Science is Fun Fridays!

 

In May of this year, NASA tracked the most intense solar storm in decades.  The Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded 82 notable solar flares.

This video highlights flares classified at M5 or higher, with nine categorized as X-class - the most powerful being an X8.7 flare, recorded May 14.

This video shows a solar storm messing with Rover's camera on Mars.

While auroras are beautiful, they can signal danger as well.  Scientists have been working to identify when these storms can cause the most devastation, and new research emphasizes the influence of the angle at which an irregularity in the solar wind arrives.

Most often we are hit at a substantial enough angle to produce a glancing blow, but more direct hits create the strongest currents (above 20 amps) in long stretches of conducting material.  In this day and age, with our powerlines and pipelines, this can be worrisome.

In Mantsala, Finland a gas pipeline received 332 shocks between 1999 and 2023.  The results also suggest more intense currents occurring around midnight, as opposed to dusk.

This is just one, albeit critical, location though.  "It would be nice to have worldwide power companies make their data accessible to scientists for studies," Dr. Denny Oliveira notes.

Link includes a podcast: Are We Ready For The Next Massive Solar Flare?