According to Xinhua News Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an extremely strong geomagnetic storm (G5 level) warning on May 10, and the impact of geomagnetic storms caused by solar coronal mass ejections on the earth will last from the 10th to the 12th. This is the first time since October 2003 that the agency has issued a G5 geomagnetic storm warning, the highest level.
Since May 8, NOAA has monitored at least seven coronal mass ejections closely related to intense solar flares produced by the Sun. Each coronal mass ejection carries billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. According to NOAA, these solar flares appear to be closely related to the sunspot group "AR3664", which is about 16 times the diameter of the Earth.
▲Sunspot group AR3664 (lower right)
The strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years
Triggered by a sunspot swarm, it is 16 times wider than Earth
According to reports, solar flares, as strong energy eruptions on the surface of the sun, are divided into five levels: A, B, C, M, and X from weak to strong. Among them, A is the least energetic level and X is the largest energetic level.
From May 10 to 10:56 a.m. UTC (GMT), the Sun produced a total of 15 flares, 14 of which were from AR3664, including 1 X-class, 9 M-class, and 4 C-class. This active area is a major contributor to the largest geomagnetic storm in 20 years. The Sun currently has five marked active regions on its Earth-facing side, and the chance of a Class C flare is expected to be as high as 99% in the next 24 hours, a 95% chance of a Class M flare, and a 75% chance of an X-class flare rising from 60% on May 11 to 75% today.
The next coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to arrive on Earth on May 12, and the event is associated with an X3.98 magnitude flare at AR3664, which peaked at 6:54 GMT (14:54 GMT) on May 10, with a powerful burst of energy causing a temporary or complete disruption of high-frequency (HF) radio signals across Asia, Eastern Europe, and East Africa.
AR3664 is reported to be a very large sunspot group, about 200,000 kilometers wide, 15-16 times the diameter of the Earth, and almost the same size as the famous sunspot group in 1859. The latter triggered the largest solar storm ever recorded, the Carrington event. According to a new statement from NOAA Space Weather Forecasting Center (SWPC) officials, there is currently an extremely large group of sunspots on the Sun, which is about 17 times the diameter of the Earth.
On the morning of May 11, UTC, AR3664 triggered a massive X5.8 flare that caused a temporary or complete loss of high-frequency (HF) radio signals in sunlit parts of the Earth. At 12:55 p.m. on the 11th, AR3664 released another X1.5 flare, and an M8.8 flare broke out on the 12th. According to recent discussions at NOAA SWPC, AR3664 is likely to remain active until Monday (May 13) and is expected to see solar activity levels remain high or even higher, with an increased likelihood of Class M and X flares.
▲NASA released two X-class flares released by AR3664 (marked in West 5th Region Time, 5 hours behind UTC)
Geomagnetic storms and aurora appeared
NASA decrypts how sunspots "wield"
Why do geomagnetic storms and auroras occur on Earth after sunspot activity? The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a discussion about the astronomical phenomenon on May 11.
Sunspots are relatively dark areas of the Sun's surface, which are cooler due to strong magnetic activity that inhibits convection. Sunspots are actually the gathering place of a strong magnetic field, and the reason why their temperature is low is because the strong magnetic field inhibits the transfer of energy from the sun's interior to the outside by way of convection. According to NASA, the activity of sunspots typically triggers two phenomena: solar flares and coronal mass ejections. They usually happen together, but not always.
A solar flare is an intense flash of light on the Sun, the result of a sudden realignment of the Sun's complex magnetic field. Coronal mass ejections, on the other hand, are huge clouds of solar particles carrying strong magnetic field energy that flee from the sun and travel through all corners of the solar system and even reach the Earth. The light produced by a solar flare reaches the Earth in about 8 minutes, while coronal mass ejections take days. When the latter hits the Earth, it may cause a change in the direction and magnitude of the geomagnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm, and may also "ignite the aurora".
"When a coronal mass ejection collides with the Earth's magnetic field, it can dump solar particles into near-Earth space, and these particles dive into the atmosphere along the Earth's magnetic field lines, forming a region known as the aurora elliptical ring, concentrated in the vicinity of the poles. When these particles hit the gas in the Earth's atmosphere, the gas is heated and begins to glow, forming what we call the aurora. The color of the aurora depends on the type and height of the gas being hit, for example, oxygen glows red or blue, while nitrogen may appear green, blue, or pink. NASA introduced.
The mainland issued a red alert for geomagnetic storms
Shortwave communication and navigation and positioning will be affected to varying degrees
Geomagnetic storms can affect certain infrastructure in low-Earth orbit and on the Earth's surface, potentially disrupting communications, power grids, navigation, radio and satellite operations.
In response to the impact of geomagnetic storms, in the early morning of May 11, Musk, CEO of SpaceX, posted that SpaceX's satellite Internet project "StarLink" (StarLink) is under great pressure. "There is currently a major geomagnetic storm, the largest in a long time," he said. The Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but so far they have been able to hold up. ”
In addition, at 9 a.m. Beijing time on May 11, the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center issued a red alert for geomagnetic storms:
Geomagnetic storms will occur from 23:00 on May 10, 2024, Beijing time, with the maximum level reaching the level of ultra-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.
Under the influence of geomagnetic storms, the ionosphere will be disturbed in most parts of the continent, and shortwave communication and navigation and positioning will be affected to varying degrees. A significant increase in the density of the upper atmosphere will lead to an increase in the orbital attenuation of low-orbit satellites. The National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center will closely track the development of the event and release forecast and early warning information in a timely manner.
Red Star News reporter Deng Shuyi Comprehensive Global Times, Securities Times, etc
Source: Red Star News