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11mo ago

Recent Solar Storms Illuminate Skies and Advance NASA's Research

One of the strongest solar storms in decades provided stunning auroras and crucial data for future space weather predictions.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash on the right – on May 14, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in red and yellow. Credit: NASA/SDO
A view of a fiery sun.
A view from above Earth showing the vibrant auroras on May 11, 2024.
Satellite images of the aurora across the U.S. This was triggered by a powerful G5 geomagnetic storm.

Overview

  • The solar storm began on May 7, with the most powerful flare occurring on May 14.
  • Auroras were visible at unusually low latitudes, including the southern U.S. and northern India.
  • NASA is collecting aurora photographs from the public to enhance scientific understanding.
  • The storm reached a G5 rating, the highest since 2003, but caused minimal damage.
  • Future missions will further study solar storms' impacts on Earth's atmosphere and infrastructure.