Thousands of pillars of light hovering in the night sky? Sometimes they resemble fiery dragons, sometimes they resemble gorgeous dancers, gorgeous and ever-changing. This is the legendary Aurora Spectacle, nature's most magnificent stage play. Not long ago, a rare "super geomagnetic storm" triggered a new round of beautiful aurora carnival, and the National Warning Center had to issue the highest level of red alert!
On the night of May 10, 2024, the northern sky was suddenly shrouded in a dazzling red, as if the red sun was in the sky, and the apocalyptic scene suddenly appeared. This thrilling scene, captured by the photographer throughout the whole process, described as "too dreamy"! The entire sky is shrouded in brilliant aurora radiance, and the brilliant colors flow through the clouds, as if they were living creatures. In addition to the surging red, rare aurora colors such as emerald green and violet also appeared, which is like a dream.
This peerless visual feast of nature turned out to be caused by a "super geomagnetic storm". According to the data of the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center, the geomagnetic storm began to erupt at 23:00 Beijing time on May 10, and the intensity reached the highest level of "super geomagnetic storm" (Kp=9), which is an extremely rare major storm on record. Magnetic storms are expected to continue in the next 24 hours, and the aurora carnival will not stop there.
What caused this rare "super geomagnetic storm"? The reason actually came from the "wrath" of the sun. As the most energetic eruption in the universe, the Sun's coronal mass ejection process can throw hundreds of millions of tons of matter off the surface of the Sun at a high speed of hundreds of kilometers per second. Not only do these substances carry a huge amount of kinetic energy, but more importantly, they also carry the powerful magnetic energy of the sun. Once it reaches the Earth, it will cause the Earth's magnetic field to distort violently, resulting in a geomagnetic storm.
What is the impact of this megamagnetic storm on human life? Experts say that although geomagnetic storms do not directly harm human health, they do bring a lot of inconvenience to modern civilization. For example, ionospheric disturbances will affect radiocommunications and navigation and positioning systems; The increase in the density of the upper atmosphere will accelerate the attenuation of satellite orbits; In extreme cases, it can also lead to grid failures and widespread power outages.
This geomagnetic storm caused funny comments from netizens!
Geomagnetic storms can also affect organisms that rely on the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. For example, the flight and positioning of carrier pigeons can be disturbed. While geomagnetic storms cannot be prevented at the moment, observations of solar activity now allow for accurate warnings days in advance, gaining valuable time to respond.
Despite this, geomagnetic storms do cause inconvenience to humans, but they also give birth to such gorgeous and magnificent auroral spectacles.
The formation of auroras is caused by the bombardment of the atmosphere by the stream of high-energy particles of geomagnetic storms. When high-energy particles fall from space, they hit the atoms of air molecules, and in the process microscopic energy exchange takes place.
Take the oxygen atom as an example, when it is impacted, it will gain a share of energy, but because the electrons in the outer shell of the nucleus can only hold a limited amount of energy, the excess part will be released again, and the release will be in the form of brilliant fluorescence.
It is visible that geomagnetic storms are a cosmic phenomenon in their own right, and like any weather phenomenon, their adverse effects can be minimized by improving forecasting and defense capabilities. With the development of the aerospace industry, perhaps one day we will be able to experience the wonderful experience of seeing the aurora in outer space.
Let us enjoy this dream stage presented to us by nature with a pious heart! The brilliant colors and unpredictable natural landscapes are unforgettable.