On September 1st, 1859, a ferocious solar storm took place that impacted much of the planet. This ferocious solar storm is now known as the “Carrington Event”, named after the British astronomer, Richard Carrington, who witnessed the largest solar flare from his own private observatory which caused a major coronal mass ejection (CME) to travel directly toward Earth. Recent studies of solar storms have warned that these type of “Carrington Events” may not be quite as rare as once thought (e.g., Hayakawa et al). Many previous studies leaned heavily on Western Hemisphere accounts, omitting data from the Eastern Hemisphere. A super storm of the same magnitude as the “Carrington Event” in today’s world would very likely have a much more damaging impact than it did in the 19th century potentially causing widespread power outages along with disruptions to navigation, air travel, banking, and all forms of digital communication.
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Solar cycle 25 began in late 2019 and is expected to continue through much of this decade with its maximum phase potentially being reached during the first half of 2025. This month of August has been very active in terms of the number of sunspots and it is quite likely to turn out to be the most active since solar cycle 23 peaked in September of 2001. Solar cycle 25 has exceeded most expectations in terms of the number of sunspots and is on pace to be of similar strength as solar cycle 23. The previous solar cycle, #24, was the weakest in more than a hundred years since solar cycle 14 peaked in January 1907.
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The annual Perseid meteor shower began in mid-July and will continue until late August, and the peak viewing time will be during the pre-dawn hours of Monday, August 12th. This year’s peak viewing will come at a time when the moon is 50% illuminated (first quarter phase) which is halfway between the new moon and full moon. The moon will set around midnight suggesting that the best viewing conditions will indeed be in the pre-dawn hours when the sky should be at its darkest. Of course, success for viewing will largely depend on the overall lighting in given viewing area and on overall sky conditions and the weather is looking quite favorable in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Perseid meteor shower comes every August as the Earth passes through a cloud of dust that comes from Comet Swift-Tuttle as it approaches the sun.
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Interesting…seeing a pattern here with powerful solar storms that have taken place during the month of May. Earlier this month, one of the strongest solar storms in many years occurred generating the northern lights in such unusual southern latitudes as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Additionally, I posted an article last week about what was arguably the most powerful solar storm of the 20th Century which also took place during the month of May (13th-15th) during the year 1921. Today’s posting is about another powerful solar storm that took place during the month of May - this time in the year 1967 - and it almost caused a nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers at the time…the US and Soviet Union.
It was during the height of the Cold War and a powerful solar storm could have led to a disastrous military conflict between the US and Soviet Union if not for the early efforts of the US Air Force to monitor solar activity. On May 23rd, 1967, a solar storm took place that was so powerful, it jammed radar and radio communications in polar regions and the US Air Force actually began to prepare aircraft for war thinking the nation’s surveillance radars were being jammed by the Soviet Union. Fortunately, space weather forecasters in the military suspected there might be another cause and they relayed information about the possibility that a solar storm could have been the reason for the disrupted radar and radio communications. As it turned out, this information was enough to keep the planes on the ground and the US avoided a potential nuclear weapon exchange with the Soviet Union.
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One of the most intense solar storms in recent years produced northern lights this past weekend much farther south than usual including in tropical regions such as Mexico and Puerto Rico. It was this same time of year when the most intense geomagnetic storm of the 20th Century took place during solar cycle 15 in a 3-day period from May 13-15 in 1921. That storm occurred before the widespread electrical dependence of infrastructure that we have in today’s world, but the impact from an extraordinarily powerful coronal mass ejection was still quite extensive. The storm’s electrical current sparked a number of fires around the world including one near the Grand Central Terminal in New York City. In addition, auroras appeared throughout the eastern US creating brightly lit nighttime skies and telegraph service virtually stopped in its tracks due to blown fuses and damaged equipment. Research in recent years has suggested that this super solar storm of May 1921 was equally as intense as the granddaddy of all super storms in recorded history – the “Carrington Event of 1859”.
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A very large sunspot region known officially as AR3664 has unleashed a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) towards Earth and a “severe” geomagnetic storm is a likelihood beginning as early as tonight and lasting into the weekend. According to NOAA, the first three of these CMEs could merge and arrive later tonight and early Saturday and two others will follow close behind. This is the first “severe” watch issued by NOAA in 19 years and the results could be auroras much farther south than usual and potentially, some impacts to communications and power grid-related infrastructure.
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Many who experienced the recent total solar eclipse in the US are wondering where and when will there be other opportunities in coming years and there are others who were “clouded out” on April 8th wondering the same thing. The next total solar eclipse on US soil won’t come for twenty years and the next one in North America will take place in 2033 across portions of Alaska. There are, however, several opportunities to view total solar eclipses between now and 2034, but most will require significant planning and extensive travel.
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In August of 2017 America went crazy for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on US soil since 1918 and it provided a great opportunity for scientists and all sky watchers. What was referred to as “The Great American Solar Eclipse” took place on August 21st, 2017 when the moon passed between the sun and earth. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every year or so, but generally cast their shadows over oceans or remote land masses. If you missed the 2017 total solar eclipse or it turned out to be cloudy in your particular area then there will be another opportunity on Monday, April 8th. This time the Moon's dark shadow, about 115 miles wide, will cross Mexico, sweep northeast from Texas to Maine, and then darken the Canadian Maritimes.
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In August of 2017 America went crazy for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on US soil since 1918 and it provided a great opportunity for scientists and all sky watchers. What was referred to as “The Great American Solar Eclipse” took place on August 21st, 2017 when the moon passed between the sun and earth. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every year or so, but generally cast their shadows over oceans or remote land masses. If you missed the 2017 total solar eclipse or it turned out to be cloudy in your particular area then there will be another opportunity in less than thirty days on Monday, April 8th, 2024. This time the Moon's dark shadow, about 115 miles wide, will cross Mexico, sweep northeast from Texas to Maine, and then darken the Canadian Maritimes.
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In August of 2017 America went crazy for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on US soil since 1918 and it provided a great opportunity for scientists and all sky watchers. What was referred to as “The Great American Solar Eclipse” took place on August 21st, 2017 when the moon passed between the sun and earth. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every year or so, but generally cast their shadows over oceans or remote land masses. If you missed the 2017 total solar eclipse or it turned out to be cloudy in your particular area then there will be another opportunity in just under three months from now on Monday, April 8th, 2024. This time the Moon's dark shadow, about 115 miles wide, will cross Mexico, sweep northeast from Texas to Maine, and then darken the Canadian Maritimes.
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