List of solar storms
Solar storms are caused by disturbances on the Sun, most often coronal clouds associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produced by solar flares emanating from active sunspot regions, or less often from coronal holes. Most living stars produce disturbances in space weather with the field of heliophysics the science that studies such phenomena; itself primarily an interdisciplinary combination of stellar astronomy and planetary science. In the Solar System, the Sun can produce intense geomagnetic and proton storms capable of causing severe damage to technology including but not limited to large scale power power outages, disruption or blackouts of radio communications (including GPS systems), and temporary or permanent disabling of satellites and other spaceborne technology. Intense solar storms may also be hazardous to high-latitude, high-altitude aviation and to human spaceflight.[1] Geomagnetic storms are the cause of auroras.[2] The most significant known solar storm occurred in September 1859 and is known as the "Carrington event".[3] The damage from the most potent solar storms is capable of threatening the stability of modern human civilization.[4]
Notable events
Electromagnetic, geomagnetic, and/or proton storms
- 2225 BCE[5]
- 1485 BCE[5]
- 95 CE[5]
- 265 CE[5]
- 774–775 carbon-14 spike[6]
- 993-994 CE[7]
- 1460 CE[5]
- 1505 CE[5]
- 1719 CE[5]
- 1810 CE[5]
- Solar storm of 1859 ("Carrington event")
- Aurora of November 17, 1882
- May 1921 geomagnetic storm
- March 1989 geomagnetic storm
- August 1989[8]
- Bastille Day event of July 14, 2000
- Halloween solar storms, 2003[9]
Events not affecting Earth
The above events affected Earth (and its vicinity, known as the magnetosphere), whereas the following events occurred elsewhere in the solar system and were detected by monitoring spacecraft or other means.
See also
References
- ^ Phillips, Tony (21 Jan 2009). "Severe Space Weather--Social and Economic Impacts". NASA Science News. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ^ "NOAA Space Weather Scales". NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. 1 Mar 2005. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ^ Bell, Trudy E.; T. Phillips (6 May 2008). "A Super Solar Flare". NASA Science News. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ^ Kappenman, John (2010). Geomagnetic Storms and Their Impacts on the U.S. Power Grid (PDF). META-R. Vol. 319. Goleta, CA: Metatech Corporation for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. OCLC 811858155.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Usoskin, Ilya G.; Gennady A. Kovaltsov (2012). "Occurrence of Extreme Solar Particle Events: Assessment from Historical Proxy Data". The Astrophysical Journal. 757 (92): 1–6. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/92.
- ^ Melott, Adrian L.; B. C. Thomas (2012). "Causes of an AD 774–775 14C increase". Nature. 491 (7426). arXiv:1212.0490. Bibcode:2012Natur.491E...1M. doi:10.1038/nature11695.
- ^ Fusa, Miyake; Kimiaki Masuda; Toshio Nakamura (2013). "Another rapid event in the carbon-14 content of tree rings". Nature Communications. 4 (1748): 1–4. doi:10.1038/ncomms2783.
- ^ Deffree, Suzanne (16 Aug 2013). "Solar flare impacts microchips, August 16, 1989". EDN.
- ^ Weaver, Michael; W. Murtagh; et al. (2004). Halloween Space Weather Storms of 2003 (PDF). NOAA Technical Memorandum. Vol. OAR SEC-88. Boulder, CO: Space Environment Center. OCLC 68692085.
{{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author3=(help) - ^ Thomson, Neil R.; C. J. Rodger; R. L. Dowden (2004). "Ionosphere gives size of greatest solar flare". Geophysical Research Letters. 31 (6). Bibcode:2004GeoRL..31.6803T. doi:10.1029/2003GL019345.
- ^ Thomson, Neil R.; C. J. Rodger; M. A. Clilverd (2005). "Large solar flares and their ionospheric D region enhancements". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 110 (A6). Bibcode:2005JGRA..110.6306T. doi:10.1029/2005JA011008.
- ^ Brodrick, David; S. Tingay; M. Wieringa (2005). "X-ray magnitude of the 4 November 2003 solar flare inferred from the ionospheric attenuation of the galactic radio background". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 110 (A9). Bibcode:2005JGRA..110.9S36B. doi:10.1029/2004JA010960.
- ^ Sanders, Robert (8 March 2014). "Fierce Solar Magnetic Storm Barely Missed Earth in 2012". Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- ^ Baker, D. N.; X. Li; A. Pulkkinen; C. M. Ngwira; M. L. Mays; A. B. Galvin; K. D. C. Simunac (2013). "A major solar eruptive event in July 2012: Defining extreme space weather scenarios". Space Weather. 11 (10): 585–91. Bibcode:2013SpWea..11..585B. doi:10.1002/swe.20097.
- ^ Ngwira, Chigomezyo M.; A. Pulkkinen2; M. Leila Mays; M. M. Kuznetsova; A. B. Galvin; K. Simunac; D. N. Baker; X. Li; Y. Zheng; A. Glocer (2013). "Simulation of the 23 July 2012 extreme space weather event: What if this extremely rare CME was Earth directed?". Space Weather. 11 (12): 671–9. Bibcode:2013SpWea..11..671N. doi:10.1002/2013SW000990.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Observations of an extreme storm in interplanetary space caused by successive coronal mass ejections". Nature Communications. 5 (3481). 2014. arXiv:1405.6088. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5E3481L. doi:10.1038/ncomms4481.
{{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ^ Phillips, Tony (2 May 2014). "Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth". NASA Science News. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ^ Phillips, Dr. Tony (23 July 2014). "Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012". NASA. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- Cliver, E.W.; L. Svalgaard (2004). "The 1859 Solar–Terrestrial Disturbance and the Current Limits of Extreme Space Weather Activity" (PDF). Solar Physics. 224 (1–2): 407–22. Bibcode:2004SoPh..224..407C. doi:10.1007/s11207-005-4980-z.
External links
- The Most Powerful Solar Flares Ever Recorded (NASA's SpaceWeather.com)
- Solar Proton Events Affecting the Earth Environment (1976 - present) (SWPC)
- Archive of the most severe solar storms (Solarstorms.org)
- GOES X-ray Solar Imager Greatest Hits