The solar storm event on October 20 has become somewhat of a mystery to astronomers and space weather physicists. The storm was triggered by a couple of coronal mass ejections (CME) that sideswiped the Earth and did not make head-on contact with the planet. They left the Sun one after the other in small eruptions, that should not have been carrying a high amount of solar matter or electromagnetic charge, but somehow its impact was far greater than some of the strongest CMEs we have seen in recent times. This is quite confusing as most forecasters had predicted a G1-class intensity for the storm, and while the storm itself was clocked at G1, the aurora display surpassed the intensity seen in that category. And now, a NASA image has been shared by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) institute that shows the widespread impact of the solar storm.
3 MASSIVE solar storms smacked into Earth; More to come? NASA reveals the truth
04.10.2023 - 07:44 / tech.hindustantimes.com
Yesterday, an unstable sunspot named AR3450 was spotted coming towards the Earth. It was estimated that any explosions within this region that could lead to a coronal mass ejection (CME) would be geoeffective and could lead to a solar storm event. However, it has not gone off so far and no solar flare activity has been noted. While astrophysicists are keeping an eye on it, a new report has highlighted that the month of September witnessed as many as three separate solar storm events, with two of them being significantly intense to the point of reaching the mid-latitude regions. With the peak of the 11-year Solar Cycle, the Solar Maximum, approaching soon, will the month of October be worse? We take a look at the data from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to know what's coming our way.
As per NASA SDO data, at present, the Sun appears to be calm. Yet, images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), an instrument aboard SDO that enables scientists to see the Sun in different wavelengths, at the 193 and 304 Angstrom wavelengths show some interesting development. A long and dark whip-like structure can be seen in the northern hemisphere of the Sun, indicating a particularly unstable region that can explode.
The data does not provide us an outlook for the entire month, as no solar storm prediction or forecast models can describe them with our current technology, it does point out that potential for solar activity remains as high as the previous month. This means there is a chance that October can also see spells of solar storm strikes.
According to a report by SpaceWeather.com, “The sun has been buffeting Earth with CMEs. In September there were three significant strikes, each one sparking a geomagnetic storm with mid-latitude auroras”.
There were two reasons that explain the high solar activity last month. The first is the approaching Solar Maximum which will witness the highest solar activity in the 11-year period. The second was the autumnal equinox which was on September 23. Based on historical data, it is known that during the equinox, solar activity always increases. A combination of both likely resulted in three separate geomagnetic storms.
It is impossible to tell whether October will have a similar impact, but early signs show that we could be looking at high solar activity in the first few days of the month. The only saving grace is that it may not all be Earth-directed.
While many space agencies from NASA with its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keep track of Sun-based weather phenomena, one that particularly stands out is the DSCOVR satellite by NOAA. The satellite became operational in 2016 and tracks different measurements
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