Latest news with #JureAtanackov
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
New update on ‘Bird wing' solar eruption that could hit Earth
A major solar eruption, also being called as the "bird-wing" event, is set to possibly impact the Earth tomorrow. This comes as a direct warning from astronomers, with a tremendous eruption of superheated plasma surging across the Sun's northern hemisphere. This plasma element, measuring over a million kilometers in length, was more than twice the distance from Earth to the Moon. NASA 's observation satellites captured this epic moment where the superheated plasma tore away from the sun in sweeping "wings". Even though all of this happened at a huge distance away from Earth, astronomers believe that this phenomenon could affect Earth. Aurora chaser Jure Atanackov has warned that the impact might trigger a major geomagnetic storm on Earth, which could surpass usual weather scales. ALSO READ | Where are the wildfires in Manitoba? Map, evacuation updates, and death toll The radiation of these solar flares has already triggered radio blackouts on the sun-facing side of the planet at the time of the flares. This includes North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, according to Live Science. Solar flares are sudden and intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation that are released from the Sun's surface due to intense magnetic activity. When the stress on these field lines becomes too great, they can suddenly snap and begin realigning, releasing a massive amount of stored magnetic energy as a solar flare. Wednesday's solar flare also flung out a coronal mass ejection (CME). It is basically a massive explosion of charged solar plasma, which are often spewed out from the sun's surface at the same time as a solar flare. While flares travel at the speed of light, CMEs travel at between 250 kilometers per second (km/s) and 3000 km/s, taking a few days to reach our planet, says Live Science.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
How 600,000-mile-long solar eruption could impact Earth
In a post on X, formerly Twitter , aurora chaser Jure Atanackov predicted that the full force of this eruption could trigger a severe or even extreme geomagnetic storm, the highest level on official rating systems. Stunning video recorded by NASA 's solar observation satellites shows the moment that filaments of plasma 75 times larger than Earth peeled away from the sun in a pair of sweeping 'wings'. Most of the material was shot out of the sun's north pole, so it will mostly avoid Earth. Jake Foster, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: 'Loops of hot plasma can sprout up from the Sun's surface, following along its magnetic field lines, and occasionally they break free and shoot off into space at high speeds.' Sometimes this triggers an event called a coronal mass ejection, a wave of plasma and magnetic fields which is launched into space. It is the arrival of these coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which trigger geomagnetic storms and enhanced auroral activity on Earth. As astronomers observed, this is exactly what happened on Tuesday as two huge filaments became unstable and collapsed, triggering a huge CME. As the filament eruption tore away from the sun's surface, eagerly-watching aurora chasers were amazed by the sheer scale of the blast. Mr Atanackov wrote in a post on X that the blast 'dwarfs all the filament eruptions we have seen recently.' Likewise, Northern Lights photographer Vincent Ledvina said: 'Not sure what to call this eruption, maybe the "bird-wing" or "angel-wing" event? Either way, it is truly something to witness! Look at how large the blast is off the Sun's northern hemisphere.' In her solar forecast, space weather physicist Dr Tamitha Skov reported a 'massive dual filament launch that could give Earth a glancing blow.' When a filament eruption escapes the solar surface, it leaves behind a cool 'scar' on the sun, which shows up as a dark region in solar imaging cameras. While it initially appeared that most of the blast had been directed northward, away from Earth, the remains scars suggested that some of the eruption could be coming our way. Dr Skov said: 'You'd think this was just going northward. But, believe it or not, the scar from this thing as it lifted off the sun makes us think that maybe there's part of this that's Earth-directed.' It is considered likely that part of the CME or its wake will hit Earth tomorrow, causing a minor geomagnetic storm and lingering effects for a few days. Mr Foster says: 'These eruptions are huge collections of high energy solar particles, so when they hit the Earth's atmosphere they can cause a few different effects. 'With enough energy, they have the potential to cause a geomagnetic storm, temporarily blocking out radio communications and satellite navigation in certain areas. 'On the more serious end of the scale, they can cause an overload to electrical infrastructure, damaging the power grid and railway lines, and potentially even sparking electrical fires.' Additionally, as charged particles from the sun arrive, they are channelled towards the poles by the planet's powerful magnetic fields. These particles then collide with nitrogen and oxygen in the air, transferring their energy into the gases and causing them to glow, in an effect we see as the aurora. Since the Earth's magnetic fields protect us extremely well from these charged particles, auroras are only normally visible close to the magnetic poles. Although Dr Skov predicts a 20 per cent chance of a major storm occurring, the chances of significant geomagnetic activity are low. Stephen Dixon, Met Office spokesperson, told MailOnline: 'A coronal mass ejection could possibly glance the Earth later this evening and could lead to aurora being visible in northern Scotland, though there is low confidence in this. 'Should it occur, skies are relatively clear, but viewers might need to take a photo with a long exposure.'
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
600,000-mile-long fiery eruption unleashed on the Sun's surface: How will it impact Earth?
Image credit: X/@JAtanackov A powerful solar eruption lit up the Sun's northern hemisphere late on May 12 (early May 13 IST), sending a massive wave of solar material into space. Due to its sheer scale, the eruption, which stretched nearly 600,000 miles (10 lakh kilometres), caught global attention. Thankfully, scientists have confirmed that this explosion is moving away from Earth and will not disrupt satellites or communication systems. Huge plasma filament breaks away from the Sun's surface This solar activity involved a structure called a filament– a thread-like ribbon of cooler, denser plasma held above the Sun's surface by magnetic fields. When these filaments become unstable, they can erupt with great force. That's exactly what happened here, triggering a dramatic coronal mass ejection (CME) that spread out into space. 'WOW! There is an absolutely enormous filament erupting right now! It dwarfs all the filament eruptions we have seen recently,' Aurora chaser Jure Atanackov posted on X, highlighting the scale of the event. CME moves outward, away from Earth Coronal mass ejections carry large amounts of charged particles and magnetic energy. When they are directed towards Earth, they can cause geomagnetic storms that affect satellites, radio communications, and even power grids. However, in this case, data shows that the CME is moving northward and is unlikely to affect our planet, according to a report by Space. 'What a spectacular CME from the huge filament eruption earlier today! Unfortunately, it is directed north and will miss us. A direct hit from a CME like this can be high-end G4 storm material, maybe even G5,' Atanackov said in another post. Even though the CME will miss Earth, the visuals of the eruption have gone viral among space enthusiasts. Many have described the filament's movement as looking like wings spreading across the Sun's surface. 'Look at how large the blast is off the sun's northern hemisphere. I could watch this animation loop for hours!' wrote Aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina, referring to the event as a 'bird-wing' or 'angel-wing' eruption. Scientists stay alert As the Sun nears the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, such events are expected to happen more often. While this particular eruption poses no threat, scientists are closely monitoring solar activity to stay prepared for any future blasts that could head towards Earth.
India Today
14-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
Sun just unleashed a 10,00,000-km-long mega eruption. Will Earth be hit?
In what could only be described as a fiery burp, the Sun unleashed a mega explosion from its northern hemisphere hurtling millions of tons of solar material into solar filament caught by aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina, stretches over a million kilometres in length as it begins its journey away from the Sun.A solar filament is a large, elongated structure of cool, dense plasma suspended above the Sun's surface by magnetic fields. Despite being cooler than the surrounding solar atmosphere (the corona), it still emits light but appears dark when viewed against the bright background of the Sun. advertisement Solar filaments form along areas where the Sun's magnetic field is particularly the video on X, Vincent Ledvina wrote "Not sure what to call this eruption, maybe the "bird-wing" or "angel-wing" event? Either way, it is truly something to witness!"After weeks of relative quiet, the Sun has sprung back to life, unleashing two powerful solar flares from opposite first, an X1.2-class flare, erupted with force, causing a brief shortwave radio blackout over the Americas and launching a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. According to NASA models, the CME is expected to strike Mercury, graze Venus, and miss Earth entirely later this a spectacular CME from the huge filament eruption earlier today! Unfortunately it is directed north and will miss us. A direct hit from a CME like this can be high-end G4 storm material, maybe even G5. Jure Atanackov (@JAtanackov) May 13, 2025advertisementThe second flare, rated M5.3, triggered a longer radio blackout across Southeast Asia and likely released a CME as well. If confirmed, this one may contain an Earth-directed component, but scientists await updated imagery from SOHO coronagraphs to verify its explosion comes over a year after the most severe geomagnetic storm in two decades struck Earth and triggered cascading effects on Earth's thermosphere, Earth's upper atmospheric layer was heated to a record 1,150C from the storm, causing it to expand and loft heavy nitrogen particles storm generated the largest electrical currents in Earth's magnetosphere in 20 years, which were observed by Nasa's MMS and THEMIS-ARTEMIS missions.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch the sun unleash 600,000-mile-long eruption in fiery outburst (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A massive solar filament erupted in dramatic fashion last night (May 12-13) around 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT), hurling a surge of material across the sun's northern hemisphere. Stretching nearly 600,000 miles (1 million kilometers) — more than twice the distance between Earth and the moon — the event was as vast as it was striking! Data suggests Earth is not in the eruption's path. "Not sure what to call this eruption, maybe the "bird-wing" or "angel-wing" event? Either way, it is truly something to witness!", aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina wrote in a post on X. "Look at how large the blast is off the sun's northern hemisphere. I could watch this animation loop for hours!" The filament, a long, dark ribbon of solar plasma suspended by magnetic fields, had been hanging above the sun's surface before destabilizing. "WOW! There is an absolutely enormous filament erupting right now! It dwarfs all the filament eruptions we have seen recently," aurora chaser Jure Atanackov wrote in a post on X. These filament structures are cooler and denser than their surroundings, making them appear as dark threads against the bright solar disk. When a filament erupts, it can trigger a coronal mass ejection (CME), hurling a vast plume of plasma and magnetic field into space. And this particular filament did just that. "What a spectacular CME from the huge filament eruption earlier today! Unfortunately, it is directed north and will miss us. A direct hit from a CME like this can be high-end G4 storm material, maybe even G5," Atanackov wrote in a later post on X. While solar storms can sometimes spark dazzling auroras and even disrupt satellite communications or power grids when directed at Earth, preliminary models suggest this CME will likely miss our planet. Still, scientists are watching closely. You can keep up to date with the latest northern lights forecasts, alerts and geomagnetic storm warnings with our aurora forecast live blog.
