Latest news with #auroras
Sustainability Times
21-05-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'Sun Unleashes Fury': World's Strongest Solar Flare of 2025 Disrupts Radio Signals Across Five Continents in Minutes
IN A NUTSHELL 🌞 The sun unleashed its strongest solar flare of 2025, affecting radio communications across five continents. of 2025, affecting radio communications across five continents. 📡 The X2.7 flare caused shortwave radio disruptions, with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory capturing stunning images. caused shortwave radio disruptions, with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory capturing stunning images. 🔭 Solar flares are classified by intensity, with strong storms posing risks to astronauts and technology but also creating spectacular auroras. and technology but also creating spectacular auroras. 🌌 As the sun enters a particularly active phase, scientists anticipate more solar storms, urging preparedness for future cosmic events. In a stunning display of cosmic power, the sun recently unleashed its most significant solar flare of the year, sending ripples across the Earth's technological landscape. Spanning five continents, the flare's impact was felt in North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, causing widespread radio blackouts. As the solar cycle intensifies, scientists are closely monitoring these phenomena, recognizing both the potential hazards and the breathtaking beauty they bring to our skies. The Solar Dynamics Observatory's timely capture of these events reminds us of the sun's majestic, yet unpredictable nature. Solar Surge Sparks Chaos In the early hours of a recent Wednesday, the Space Weather Prediction Center recorded a formidable X2.7 solar flare, following an earlier M5.3 flare. Just the day before, NASA had observed an X1.2 flare, highlighting the sun's escalating activity. These flares, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, are a testament to the sun's volatile behavior. Shawn Dahl from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center noted that the X2.7 flare, occurring over the Middle East, led to high-frequency radio disruptions for about ten minutes. Such events, while brief, underscore the broader implications of solar activity. Although primarily affecting radio communications, the flare's potential impacts extend beyond mere disruptions. As Dahl pointed out, while the immediate effects were limited to communication challenges, the underlying risk of more severe consequences remains. High-intensity solar flares can jeopardize astronauts, disrupt GPS systems, and even threaten power infrastructures. As these solar events unfold, the world watches with a mix of awe and apprehension, recognizing the dual nature of the sun's fiery displays. Unbelievable Discovery: Titan's Rivers Defy Expectations by Ending in Deep Pits Instead of Expected Deltas, Shocking Scientists Worldwide Flares, Fallout, and Forecasts Solar flares are classified into categories ranging from A to X, with each letter representing a tenfold increase in energy. Within these categories, a numerical scale from 1 to 9 further specifies the intensity, as established by NASA. The recent X2.7 flare exemplifies the sun's strength, with such events posing significant risks to modern technology and safety. Beyond the immediate threat to astronauts and satellites, these solar storms can disrupt radio communications and power grids. When charged solar particles collide with Earth's magnetic field, they can induce currents in power lines, leading to potential outages. Despite these hazards, solar storms also offer a silver lining. They can create stunning auroras, extending the reach of the northern lights far beyond their usual limits. This occurs as charged particles interact with Earth's magnetic field and atmospheric atoms, producing vibrant light displays. As we continue through the solar maximum, part of the sun's 11-year cycle, scientists predict a rise in such solar events. This phase, characterized by increased solar activity, promises more spectacular sky shows and challenges in managing their earthly impacts. 'Nuclear Breakthrough at NASA': New Space Power System Passes First Test Using Fuel That's Five Times Cheaper Than Before Reflections on Recent Solar Events While the recent X2.7 flare stands as the most powerful of 2025, it pales in comparison to last year's massive X9.0 flare, which erupted in October 2024. This highlights the sun's unpredictable nature, with each solar cycle bringing its unique set of challenges and marvels. As we navigate this solar maximum, the lessons learned from past flares guide our preparedness for future events. The robust observation capabilities of institutions like NASA ensure that we remain vigilant, ready to mitigate the risks associated with solar activity. Understanding the sun's behavior is crucial, not only for technological resilience but also for appreciating the natural wonders these solar events create. As we enhance our forecasting abilities and protective measures, we also embrace the opportunity to witness the sun's majestic displays, reminding us of our place in the cosmic order. '56,000 Homes Become a Power Plant': California Firm Creates Largest Virtual Energy Source in US With Revolutionary Grid-Sharing Tech Preparing for the Future As we stand at the cusp of heightened solar activity, it becomes imperative to bolster our technological defenses and enhance our understanding of the sun's cycles. The sun's recent flares serve as a wake-up call, urging us to develop more robust systems capable of withstanding such cosmic events. Innovations in satellite technology and power grid management will be essential in ensuring that society can thrive amidst the sun's fiery displays. Moreover, public awareness campaigns can play a pivotal role in educating communities about the potential impacts and necessary precautions during solar storms. While the challenges are significant, the potential for scientific advancement and discovery is equally promising. As we gaze toward the sun, we do so with a sense of wonder and responsibility, knowing that our actions today will shape our resilience in the face of tomorrow's solar challenges. How will we leverage our growing knowledge and technological capabilities to better coexist with the sun's powerful, and sometimes perilous, presence? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.6/5 (30)
Gizmodo
19-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Strange, Dazzling White Streak Photobombs Rare Auroras Over the U.S.
A surprise solar storm also came with a baffling phenomenon that left people in the inland U.S. scratching their heads. On the night of Saturday, May 17, skywatchers in parts of the U.S. were treated to a dazzling display of auroras from a surprise geomagnetic storm. But then observers spotted something very weird. A mysterious white streak cut clean across the night sky, leaving many wondering: what the heck was that? On Sunday evening, the skies over Colorado and states farther south lit up with bands of green, blue, and red auroras. The storm was a result of solar flares and a coronal mass ejection (CME)—a massive bubble of coronal plasma and magnetic field ejected from the Sun—that occurred about four days earlier. The CME was initially expected to miss Earth, but a portion of it dealt a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field, triggering a geomagnetic storm. But the real weirdness started at around 11:30 p.m. MT on May 17, when a bright white streak lit up the sky. Naturally, people took to social media for answers. Many observers initially thought it might be a strange form of STEVE, a unique band of purple and green light that often appears near auroras. STEVE is also caused by space weather events. Photographer Mike Lewinski captured long-exposure shots of the whole thing unfolding over the skies of Crestone, Colorado. 'The aurora was rippling low on the northern horizon when suddenly a bright streak of light, reminiscent of a rocket re-entry, appeared high in the sky and flowed down to the horizon,' Lewinski told The strange event was not STEVE after all, but a recent rocket launch. reported that roughly an hour before the mysterious white streak appeared across the southwestern U.S., the Chinese company Landscape launched its Zhuque-2E methane-fueled rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The rocket was shuttling six satellites into orbit, and the white streak may have occurred as the rocket prepared for reentry. On X, astronomer Jonathan McDowell wrote that the odd event was likely the result of the rocket's upper stage passing over the U.S. He elaborated that the white streak may have been caused by a fuel dump at an altitude of 155 miles (250 kilometers) as the rocket passed over the Four Corners region. It's not the first time rocket launches have left skywatchers puzzled. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets have created dizzying spiral patterns across the night sky. So we're likely in for more mysterious sky phenomena.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Nasa warns of huge solar flares causing blackouts on Earth
Astronomers have warned of solar storms and other extreme space weather over the coming days and weeks, as an active part of the Sun rotates into view. The activity is expected to cause auroras and potential blackouts on Earth, with Nasa 's Solar Dynamics Observatory recently capturing the most powerful eruption of 2025 from a newly emerged sunspot region. Classed as an X2.7 flare – the highest category possible for a solar flare – the event triggered radio blackouts across parts of the Middle East. High frequency radio signals were disrupted for around 10 minutes, according to space weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. Nasa noted that ongoing flares and solar eruptions from this region could continue to impact 'radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts'. The Sun is currently at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, known as its solar maximum period. This is a result of the star's magnetic poles flipping, which causes it to transition to an active and stormy state. Disruptions from solar flares can also be accompanied by auroras from coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which is when charged particles from the Sun pass through the Earth's atmosphere and create colourful displays known as the Northern Lights or Southern Lights. The most active region on the Sun is currently rotating to face Earth, leading to forecasts of more significant space weather. 'There are currently up to five sunspot regions on the facing side of the Sun, with a new, apparently magnetically unipolar region rotating into view over the southeastern solar horizon,' the Met Office noted in its latest space weather forecast. Other observers noted that the sunspot AR4087 could lead to supercharged auroras as it lines up with Earth. 'This is getting intense,' space photographer Vincent Ledvina wrote in a social media post. 'Especially as this active region turns closer into view.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Perseverance Mars rover becomes 1st spacecraft to spot auroras from the surface of another world
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA's Perseverance rover just made skywatching history. The car-sized Perseverance spied auroras in Mars' skies in mid-March, becoming the first-ever spacecraft to witness such a light show from the surface of another planet. "This exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research and confirms that auroras could be visible to future astronauts on Mars' surface," Elise Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway and lead author of a study about the news, said in a statement. Auroras occur when charged particles from the sun collide with molecules in planetary atmospheres. Earth's magnetic field channels most of those solar particles toward its poles, which is why auroral displays on our planet are generally limited to high latitudes — that is, except on certain occasions when particularly big clouds of solar plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hit us. Mars, however, doesn't have a global magnetic field anymore, it disappeared long ago and caused the once-wet world to dry out. Because of this, the Red Planet's auroral shows are different than those we get on Earth. The arrival of a big CME, for example, tends to set the whole Martian sky aglow. These alien auroras have been observed from Mars orbit before, but no surface craft had managed to capture the phenomenon. Knutsen and her team set out to make history. They calculated the best angle at which to point two key Perseverance instruments — its MastCam-Z camera system and SuperCam spectrometer — at the Martian sky. They also worked with researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland to identify Mars-bound CMEs that could spark detectable auroral displays. The Goddard scientists flagged one such outburst on March 15. That alert was noticed by space physicist Christina Lee of the University of California, Berkeley, the space weather lead for NASA's MAVEN Mars orbiter. Lee, in turn, issued a notice to other Mars mission teams, including Knutsen and her colleagues. "When we saw the strength of this one, we estimated it could trigger aurora bright enough for our instruments to detect," Knutsen said. That was indeed the case. The CME slammed into Mars' thin atmosphere a few days later, generating a green aurora that was pretty much uniform across the Red Planet's skies. (As on Earth, the green auroral glow was caused by light-emitting oxygen atoms.) MAVEN and another Mars orbiter, Europe's Mars Express, detected solar energetic particles in the atmosphere at the time, confirming that Perseverance did indeed record a Martian aurora from the planet's surface. "This was a fantastic example of cross-mission coordination," MAVEN Principal Investigator Shannon Curry, a research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in the same statement. "We all worked together quickly to facilitate this observation and are thrilled to have finally gotten a sneak peek of what astronauts will be able to see there some day,' added Curry, a co-author of the new paper. Related stories: — Massive sunspot that brought widespread auroras to Earth now targets Mars — Mars orbiter notches 1st sighting of simultaneous auroras with different causes — Perseverance rover: Everything you need to know Perseverance's aurora observations, which were described in a study published Wednesday (May 14) in the journal Science Advances, have more than just gee-whiz appeal. After all, auroras result from space weather, which can have profound effects on spacecraft and people that venture beyond our planet's protective magnetic bubble. "Perseverance's observations of the visible-light aurora confirm a new way to study these phenomena that's complementary to what we can observe with our Mars orbiters," Katie Stack Morgan, acting project scientist for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California who was not part of the study team, said in the statement. "A better understanding of auroras and the conditions around Mars that lead to their formation are especially important as we prepare to send human explorers there safely," added Stack Morgan.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
NASA's Perseverance rover spots first auroras from the surface of Mars
Auroras on Mars don't look quite like they do on Earth — but they still produce a weird and fascinating light show. NASA's Perseverance rover has snapped pictures of a visible-light aurora from the Martian surface. It's the first time an aurora has been observed from the surface of a planet other than Earth, and the first time visible auroras have been seen on Mars. The weak green light was photographed in March last year, with the pictures just released in a new study published in Science Advances. Auroras on Earth are formed by particles from the Sun interacting with the planet's magnetic field. But auroras have also been observed on nearly every other planet in the Solar System. The light show was first detected around Mars 20 years ago from space. Unlike Earth, Mars doesn't have a global magnetic field — instead, its magnetism is patchy and varies across the planet's surface. This means its auroras are caused by slightly different phenomena. One type of aurora Mars sees, called a solar energetic particle (SEP) aurora, comes from super-energised particles from the Sun hitting the Martian atmosphere directly. These have been observed in ultraviolet light before, from NASA's MAVEN instrument that orbits around Mars. But when the Sun emitted a solar flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) in the direction of Mars last year, a team of researchers spotted an opportunity to see the auroras from the planet's surface. They scrambled to ready the Perseverance rover, which is trundling through Mars' Jezero crater. The team used computer models to predict when and where the aurora would be visible in the Martian sky, and what colour and intensity of light they could expect the rover to spot. They expected particles from the CME would react with oxygen atoms in the Martian atmosphere, causing a faint glow in a very precise shade of green. Elise Knutsen, a physicist at the University of Oslo and lead author of the study, said the team needed to pick a strong CME to test their models. 'When we saw the strength of this one, we estimated it could trigger an aurora bright enough for our instruments to detect,' Dr Knutsen said. Days after the solar flare, two instruments on Perseverance recorded the exact shade of green in Mars' sky the researchers had predicted. Hannah Schunker, a physicist at the University of Newcastle who wasn't involved in the research, called the study a "neat observation". "It's a nice test of the Martian atmosphere models — and also a little more indirectly, it can be used to test our models of the coronal mass ejections," Dr Schunker said. Disappointingly for future space travellers, it's unlikely the aurora would be as dazzling as those seen on Earth. "Even on Earth, when we observe auroras, they often look quite different to the beautiful images we see," Dr Schunker said. "The photographic images that are taken of the auroras on Earth are often exposed for some minutes, so you get these really bright, vivid colours. Whereas if you see it with your eyes, it doesn't look quite so bright and quite so vivid, although still impressive." Mars, meanwhile, has fainter auroras to start with: lacking Earth's magnetism, the solar particles produce less light when they crash into the planet's atmosphere. "There might be a detectable change in the atmosphere, but it would not be strong and it would not be very obvious to the eye," Dr Schunker said. While it might not be the best light show in the Solar System, the research will be useful for better understanding solar weather from different angles, according to Dr Schunker. "Mars is not aligned with Earth at the moment. So we would not have experienced this particular CME," she said. We might be able to expect more observations like this in coming months, she said, thanks to "solar maximum": the point in its roughly 11-year cycle when the Sun produces the highest number of flares and sunspots. This is why people on Earth have seen so many auroras in the past year, often much further away from the poles than they can normally be spotted. "We're approaching, or we're in the middle of, solar maximum at the moment. We never know if we've reached solar maximum until we're on the other side of it," Dr Schunker said.
