Bengaluru:

A powerful solar storm impacted Earth in early May 2024, triggered by the highly active region AR13664 in the Sun, ISRO said on Tuesday.

This region unleashed a series of X-class flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) directed at Earth.

According to ISRO, the resulting geomagnetic storm was the most intense since 2003, causing disruptions to communication and GPS systems.

“This is the biggest geomagnetic storm since 2003 in terms of its strength, as the flaring region on the Sun was as big as the historically important Carrington event that took place in 1859,” ISRO said in a statement.

Multiple X-class flares and CMEs have hit the Earth in the past few days, the space agency said.

“This (CME) had severe effects over high latitudes where trans-polar flights are already being reported to get diverted. More events are expected in the next few days,” ISRO noted.

The space agency said that the Indian sector got less affected as the main event of the storm happened in the early morning of May 11, when the ionosphere had not developed fully.

Also, being at lower latitudes, widespread outages haven’t been reported in India.

The Ionosphere was very turbulent over the Pacific and American sectors, ISRO said.

The Ionosphere is part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, between 80 and about 600 km where extreme ultraviolet and x-ray solar radiation ionises the atoms and molecules, thus creating a layer of electrons.

The ionosphere is important because it reflects and modifies radio waves used for communication and navigation.

The main punch of this event so far arrived in the early morning hours of May 11 in India, when the Ionosphere was not fully developed, ISRO said.

ISRO said it has mobilised all its observation platforms and systems to record the signatures of this event. Both Aditya-L1 and Chandrayaan-2 have made observations and signatures have been analysed.

“The ASPEX payload on-board Aditya-L1 is showing high speed solar wind, high temperature solar wind plasma and energetic ion flux till now,” the space agency said. PTI GMS ANE

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New Delhi:

NASA has recorded two explosions on the surface of the sun which unleashed powerful solar flares on Friday and Saturday. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory meticulously documented the solar eruptions which sent ripples of electromagnetic energy hurtling towards Earth. 

“The Sun emitted two strong solar flares on May 10-11, 2024, peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, and 7:44 a.m. EDT on May 11. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the events, which were classified as X5.8 and X1.5-class flares,” NASA said in a statement. 

The Sun emitted two strong solar flares on May 10-11, 2024, peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, and 7:44 a.m. EDT on May 11. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the events, which were classified as X5.8 and X1.5-class flares. https://t.co/nLfnG1OvvEpic.twitter.com/LjmI0rk2Wm

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) May 11, 2024

What followed was a cosmic spectacle, as Earth braced for the impact of these solar storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued alerts as the first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) surged towards our planet. 

For skywatchers across the globe, this celestial drama unfolded in stunning auroras that painted the skies with vibrant hues of pink, green, and purple. From northern Europe to Australia’s Tasmania, sky-gazers were able to capture stunning photos courtesy of the rare phenomena. 

Solar storms, while mesmerising, pose potential risks to technological infrastructure. Fluctuating magnetic fields induced by geomagnetic storms can disrupt power grids, communication networks, and satellite operations.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Starlink, acknowledged the challenges posed by the solar storm, noting the strain on satellite operations. Despite concerns, Musk reassured that SpaceX’s satellites were well equipped to handle the solar storm. 

Rare severe solar storm could produce northern lights in the U.S., disrupt power and communications this weekend

NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit to take precautions, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, according to NOAA. But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.

“That’s really the gift from space weather — the aurora,” said Mr. Steenburgh. He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.

Snap a picture of the sky and “there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.

Also Watch: What causes the northern lights?

The most intense solar storm in recorded history, in 1859, prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii. “We are not anticipating that” but it could come close, said NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl.

This storm poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Mr. Dahl told reporters. Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.

An extreme geomagnetic storm in 2003, for example, took out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.

Even when the storm is over, signals between GPS satellites and ground receivers could be scrambled or lost, according to NOAA. But there are so many navigation satellites that any outages should not last long, Mr. Steenburgh noted.

The sun has produced strong solar flares since May 8, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma. Each eruption — known as a coronal mass ejection — can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.

The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, according to NOAA. It’s all part of the solar activity that’s ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.

NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The biggest concern is the increased radiation levels, and the crew could move to a better shielded part of the station if necessary, according to Mr. Steenburgh.

Increased radiation also could threaten some of NASA’s science satellites. Extremely sensitive instruments will be turned off, if necessary, to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the space agency’s heliophysics science division.

Several sun-focused spacecraft are monitoring all the action.

“This is exactly the kinds of things we want to observe,” Mr. Pulkkinen said.