Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Recent auroras were observed at latitudes as low as Florida in the U.S. and Ladakh in northern India, potentially making these displays among the most powerful on record.
Auroras were visible at latitudes as low as 26 degrees, potentially setting records for the lowest-latitude sightings over the past five centuries, according to NASA.
Delores Knipp, a research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, noted the difficulty in comparing storms over time due to evolving technology. Aurora visibility, while imperfect, provides a basis for comparison across centuries.
The strong auroras on May 10 were caused by a rare G5 geomagnetic storm, the strongest since Halloween 2003. This storm pushed the northern and southern lights much closer to the equator.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded 82 significant solar flares between May 3 and May 9. These flares, from sunspots 3663 and 3664, led to multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that hit Earth on May 10.
Credit : NASA
Seven CMEs arrived simultaneously, creating the perfect conditions for a historic storm, said Elizabeth MacDonald from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a storm warning, the first in nearly two decades, prompting NASA to place the ICESat-2 satellite in safe mode and power down other instruments.
Credit : NASA
Reports from citizen scientists via the NASA-funded Aurorasaurus project helped track auroras worldwide. These contributions are vital for studying and modeling space weather events.
Credit : NASA
The sunspots responsible for the historic auroras are now impacting Mars, with the planet experiencing the effects of the strongest flare from AR3664, as NASA continues to monitor the situation.