The Sun is an incredibly chaotic area, with vast amounts of energy accumulating, waiting to explode. When this box containing billions of kilojoules of energy is released, it is called solar storms.
Solar Storms and Solar Eruptions
Last week, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared the first images captured by its solar mission Aditya-L1. The images were taken by the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) at wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nanometers and showcased distinctive features of the Sun, including large sunspots.
Sunspots can emit powerful solar eruptions (CMEs) that can collide with Earth and lead to severe geomagnetic storms, regardless of whether we can see the dark spots or not. This means we may be surprised by extreme space weather events. Massive clouds of charged gas travel at speeds reaching hundreds of miles per second and can impact electric grids, communications, navigation via satellite GPS, air travel, and satellites.
How Are Solar Eruptions / Sunspots Formed?
Solar activity follows a regular pattern that involves peaks and troughs every 11 years. These cycles are known as solar maximum and solar minimum, driven by the Sun’s magnetic field.
We are currently in solar cycle 25 and are expected to reach solar maximum in July 2025. However, this cycle has shown greater activity than expected by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with approximately 115 sunspots anticipated at the peak.
Scientists are uncertain about the reason for the Sun’s greater-than-expected activity, and more monitoring is essential to improve future predictions and deepen our understanding of the Sun’s internal processes.
Solar Faces and STEVE
However, in most cases, solar storms pass over the Earth’s surface without causing significant damage. The Earth’s magnetic field ensures that charged solar winds are diverted to the poles, often resulting in the formation of bright sky lights known as auroras: the northern aurora near the North Pole and the southern aurora near the South Pole.
Then there’s another phenomenon called STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), which is a strange light colored purple and white observed near the equator. This light display is sometimes accompanied by a green striped feature known as “the picket fence.”
Although scientists have not confirmed the origin of STEVE, some researchers believe it is also caused by solar storms that touch the Earth before leaving for the next planet.
Previous Major Disturbances
This does not mean that solar storms always lead to beautiful auroras or STEVE. Between October and November 2003, there was a period of intense solar activity, where one of the solar eruptions was so powerful that NOAA (the American agency responsible for weather forecasting and monitoring) had to adjust its charts.
In 1989, Quebec, the largest province by area in Canada, experienced a blackout for over nine hours due to a solar storm. Between September 1 and 2, 1859, the largest solar storm in history was recorded, known as the “Carrington Event.” In just 18 hours, the solar storm traveled 150 million kilometers to Earth and unleashed its fury on our planet.
Typically, a solar storm takes several days to reach Earth, but the intensity was so great that it arrived within just 24 hours and also caused chaos in our relatively primitive technologies. Reports indicated instances of sparking in numerous telegraph devices, operators receiving electric shocks, and papers igniting from passing sparks.
(Using
Inputs from agencies)
Source:
Abhinav Singh
Football. Cricket. Politics. Geopolitics. In no particular order.
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