Solar Storms

Extracted Attributes

• Causes

  Space weather, space climate, geomagnetic storms, radio blackouts, power outages, auroras, damage to electronics/DNA

• Nature

  Disturbance on the Sun

• Origin

  Sun

• Impacts

  Entire Solar System, Earth, Earth's magnetosphere, satellites, humans in space, high-flying aircraft, electronic circuits, biological DNA, electron-based infrastructure

• Propagation

  Outward across the heliosphere

• Proton Speed

  Large fractions of the speed of light

• Activity Cycle

  Waxes and wanes with the Sun's 11-year cycle

• Primary Causes

  Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), solar flares, magnetic field realignments on the Sun

• Associated Particles

  Energetic protons

• Classification Scale

  NOAA Space Weather Scale (S1-S5 for Solar Radiation Storms)

• Monitoring Organizations

  ESA, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

• Proton Travel Time to Earth

  10s of minutes or less

• Solar Flare Travel Time to Earth

  Approximately eight minutes

Timeline

• The Carrington Event, a severe solar storm, caused sparks and fires in telegraph stations across Europe and North America, marking the most intense recorded solar storm. (Source: Web Search Results)

  1859-09

• Powerful geomagnetic events caused widespread electric and communications disruptions in the US and accidentally detonated US naval mines in Vietnam. (Source: Web Search Results)

  1972-08

• A G5-level solar storm, caused by a massive Coronal Mass Ejection, impacted Earth. (Source: Related Documents)

  Recent

Solar storm

A solar storm is a disturbance on the Sun, which can emanate outward across the heliosphere, affecting the entire Solar System, including Earth and its magnetosphere, and is the cause of space weather in the short-term with long-term patterns comprising space climate.

Web Search Results

• Solar Radiation Storm - Space Weather Prediction Center - NOAA

  Solar Radiation Storms cause several impacts near Earth. When energetic protons collide with satellites or humans in space, they can penetrate deep into the object that they collide with and cause damage to electronic circuits or biological DNA. During the more extreme Solar Radiation Storms, passengers and crew in high flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk. Also, when the energetic protons collide with the atmosphere, they ionize the atoms and molecules thus [...] Solar radiation storms occur when a large-scale magnetic eruption, often causing a coronal mass ejection and associated solar flare, accelerates charged particles in the solar atmosphere to very high velocities. The most important particles are protons which can get accelerated to large fractions of the speed of light. At these velocities, the protons can traverse the 150 million km from sun to Earth in just 10’s of minutes or less. When they reach Earth, the fast moving protons penetrate the [...] NOAA categorizes Solar Radiation Storms using the NOAA Space Weather Scale on a scale from S1 - S5. The scale is based on measurements of energetic protons taken by the GOES satellite in geosynchronous orbit. The start of a Solar Radiation Storm is defined as the time when the flux of protons at energies ≥ 10 MeV equals or exceeds 10 proton flux units (1 pfu = 1 particle\cm-2\s-1\ster-1). The end of a Solar Radiation Storm is defined as the last time when the flux of ≥ 10 MeV protons is

• Solar Storms and Flares - NASA Science

  Solar storms and their related phenomena all wax and wane with the Sun’s 11-year cycle of activity. Such events are more common during solar maximum (or peak of the solar cycle) but are less frequent during solar minimum (or low point of the cycle). [...] Sunspots, or dark “blemishes” on the Sun, also increase during solar maximum and mark magnetically active regions on the Sun, which give rise to solar eruptions. When a large group of sunspots or a particularly active region on the Sun comes into view, it’s a good time to be on the lookout for solar storms that could be headed our way. [...] When directed toward Earth, a solar storm can create a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field, called a geomagnetic storm, that can produce effects such as radio blackouts, power outages, and beautiful auroras. They do not cause direct harm to anyone on Earth, however, as our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from the worst of these storms. ### What causes a solar storm?

• Solar storms hit Earth: What are they; where can Northern Lights be ...

  Solar storms can also emerge in the form of solar flares, which are sudden eruptions of electromagnetic radiation reaching the Earth from the sun. These travel at the speed of light, reaching Earth in approximately eight minutes, and can last for several minutes or even hours. Both phenomena happen when magnetic fields on the sun realign. They often, but not always, occur together. [...] On rare occasions, solar eruptions can be damaging. A severe solar storm in September 1859 caused sparks and fires in telegraph stations across Europe and North America. Known as the Carrington Event, those storms were the most intense in recorded history. In August 1972, powerful geomagnetic events caused widespread electric and communications disruptions in the US and accidentally detonated US naval mines positioned in Vietnam. [...] Geomagnetic storms occur when storms on the sun trigger disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. A solar storm becomes a geomagnetic storm when it reaches the Earth.

• Solar flares: What are they and how do they affect Earth? - Space

  Solar radiation storms can also emit fast-moving charged particles, which carry a lot of energy and can endanger astronauts and Earth-orbiting spacecraft. During these storms, astronauts on the International Space Station need to seek shelter and all extravehicular activities are paused. Radiation-sensitive systems on satellites are powered down until the radiation storm has passed.

• ESA actively monitoring severe space weather event

  Big solar storms are common so close to solar maximum. Although it is possible to forecast the probability of an eruption, the exact moment of the event – when the elastic band snaps – and the precise magnitude are still difficult to predict.