A super-geomagnetic storm has happened! At 9 o'clock today (May 11), the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center issued a red warning for geomagnetic storms: geomagnetic storms will occur from 23 o'clock on May 10, Beijing time, and the maximum level will reach the level of super geomagnetic storms (Kp=9), and it is expected that the magnetic storm process will continue in the next 24 hours, and geomagnetic storms may still occur in the future.
Since May, with the emergence of large sunspots on the sun's surface, the sun has continued to erupt violently, with 10 X-class flares and more than 60 M-class flares erupting in just one week, and the intensity and frequency of outbreaks are rare in history.
The National Space Science Center predicts that the geomagnetic field will produce a strong disturbance on May 11, Beijing time, and may reach the level of a geomagnetic storm. When a geodetic storm occurs, the atmospheric density will increase, and the orbital attenuation rate of low-orbit satellites will be further aggravated. The electron density of the ionosphere will be disturbed, which will affect the quality of radio wave communication and the accuracy of navigation and positioning. At the same time, in high latitudes, the beautiful aurora phenomenon will also reappear.
At 09:00 this morning (11th), the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center issued a red warning for geomagnetic storms: geomagnetic storms will occur from 23:00 on May 10, 2024, Beijing time, and the maximum level will reach the level of super geomagnetic storms (Kp=9), and it is expected that in the next 24 hours, the magnetic storm process will continue, and geomagnetic storms may still occur in the future.
What is a solar flare?
Solar flares are one of the most violently active phenomena on the Sun, with a cycle of about 11 years. The main observation characteristics are that the local area of the solar atmosphere suddenly brightens, often accompanied by the enhancement of electromagnetic radiation and particle emission in various energy bands, and the brightness rises rapidly and decreases slowly.
Although the lifespan of a solar flare is only between a few minutes and tens of minutes, the energy released is equivalent to the total energy of 100,000 or even a million powerful volcanic eruptions, or equivalent to the explosion of tens of billions of hundred-ton hydrogen bombs.
Solar flares are divided into five levels: A, B, C, M, and X, of which A is the least energetic level, and the two solar flares in May are both maximum level X, and the 25th solar cycle activity peak between January and October 2024 is the "solar activity maximum", that is, the Sun will reach the peak of the current activity cycle in 2024.
How does a solar strong flare affect the Earth?
What kind of impact will the outbreak of a strong solar flare have on us living on Earth? If you think of a flare eruption as a "sneeze" from the sun, will the earth also "catch a cold"?
According to experts, the outer atmosphere of the sun erupts from the surface of the sun, forming a solar wind that fills the entire solar system, and the earth is immersed in it, but we can survive only with the earth's magnetic field as a natural barrier. Solar activity causes various changes in the solar wind and the Earth's space environment, just as the short-term change processes in the Earth's atmosphere are called "weather", and the various short-term change processes that occur in the Sun-Earth space are called "space weather". Intense solar activity, such as flares and coronal mass ejections, often create space weather events that disturb the Earth and may trigger "space weather disasters".
These disasters are mainly emitted by the sun in the form of radiation and energetic materials, affecting near-Earth space as well as man-made facilities on the ground. For example, solar flares affect the Earth's ionosphere on the sunny side, short-wave communications, navigation and positioning, maritime search and rescue, and some emergency communications are closely related to the state of the ionosphere. With the progress of human space science and technology, this kind of disaster is gradually becoming prominent, especially affecting the safety of satellites and spacecraft, as well as aviation, communications, navigation and other fields.
How do solar flares affect our lives?
Chen Anqin, Chief Forecaster of the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center: In fact, the impact of solar flares itself is relatively small, but some other phenomena associated with it, such as coronal mass ejections reaching the Earth, may cause some strong geomagnetic storms. At this time, such as long-distance power transmission, some loads should be reduced, power supply should be reduced, and the loads of some satellites should also be appropriately turned off to reduce the impact.
Geomagnetic storms are not all bad, such as the occurrence of aurora celestial phenomena, if the geomagnetic storm is particularly strong, and even further south it is possible to see the aurora.
In the early morning of May 11, Altay, Xinjiang. The photographer @Jeff the journey to the stars to capture the aurora activity, and the red, purple, and green aurora are intertwined, like a dream.
Netizen: "No wonder I'm so sleepy~"
Source: People's Daily, CCTV News, National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center, etc