From the evening of May 10 to the early morning of May 11, there were 3-hour ultra-geomagnetic storms and 6-hour ultra-geomagnetic storms on the earth, and the geomagnetic activity is still continuing. This ultra-geomagnetic storm event affected short-wave communication and navigation and positioning, but also caused the most brilliant aurora phenomenon in 20 years in the middle and high latitudes of the world.
△ Probability of magnetic storms in the next three days
A super-powerful solar storm hits Earth
Since May, the Sun has continued to erupt violently with the emergence of large sunspots on the visible sun. In just one week, 10 X-class flares and more than 60 M-class flares erupted, accompanied by coronal mass ejections.
A strong solar storm soon hit Earth, triggering a geomagnetic storm event, with the maximum magnitude reaching a super-geomagnetic storm. Teng Weilin of the Purple Mountain Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced that geomagnetic storms are violent disturbances in the earth's magnetic field, and super geomagnetic storms are such disturbance phenomena, with a KP index of 9, reaching the highest level.
"The last time a geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurred was during the 'Halloween event' in October 2003." Teng Weilin said that at that time, it was in the maximum period of the 23rd solar cycle, and a series of eruptions had a disastrous impact on the earth's space environment, such as rare auroras could be seen over central California, the power supply of 50,000 people in Sweden was interrupted, the communication of the Everest expedition was interrupted, and global satellite communications were disrupted......
According to the solar monitoring data, there is currently a very large area and complex magnetic field structure on the visible solar surface 13664, which has been extremely active recently, and it is located near the center of the visible solar surface a few days ago, and the explosive activity has a great impact on the earth. Teng Weilin said that the super-geomagnetic storm event was caused by multiple coronal mass ejections from the active area 13664 hitting the Earth.
△ A summary of the space weather in the past 24 hours
On the morning of May 11, the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center issued a forecast that small to geomagnetic storms or even extra-geomagnetic storms may still occur in the next three days due to the combined influence of multiple halo-like coronal mass ejections and high-speed flow of coronal holes.
Brilliant aurora lights illuminate the mid- and high-latitude night sky
Under the influence of geomagnetic storms, the ionosphere has been disturbed in most parts of the continent, and short-wave communication and navigation and positioning have been affected to varying degrees. Moreover, the density of the upper atmosphere has increased significantly, resulting in the aggravation of the orbit of some low-orbit satellites.
For aurora enthusiasts, geomagnetic storms are extremely exciting. Gorgeous auroras have appeared in Mohe in Heilongjiang on the mainland, Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia, Altay in Xinjiang and other places, as well as in the middle and high latitude countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, the United States, Japan, and New Zealand.
The aurora is a brilliant and colorful luminous phenomenon. When the solar wind (stream of charged particles) enters the Earth's magnetic field, it collides with atoms in the upper atmosphere at high altitudes near the North and South Poles, producing a colorful glow. Among them, the green and red aurora come from oxygen atoms, and the violet and blue aurora tend to come from nitrogen atoms. These colors intertwine to create a cosmic light show in the night sky.
△ Photographer Dai Jianfeng's personal public account
"It's a dream come true!" Star photographer Dai Jianfeng caught up with the strongest aurora event in 20 years in Altay, Xinjiang, and he mentioned in his personal public account that the entire sky in the north is red, and various aurora pillars are clearly visible to the naked eye. In addition to the red aurora, Dai Jianfeng also photographed the rare green aurora and purple aurora. "The scene is really fantastic!"
Hyundai Express/Hyundai+ reporter Chu Xihao
(Photo source: National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center, Weibo, WeChat public account)