2024 brought multiple astronomical events across the D.C. area, but one story rose (daily in the east) above all the rest — our star, the sun. Here’s a look back at the sun’s influence this year.
Geomagnetic storm of May 10
I was at sea on a cruise ship in the Southern Hemisphere when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began issuing alerts that earth would be impacted by a potentially severe (G4) geomagnetic storm.
On May 11, this geomagnetic storm developed into a G5 extreme-level event, the first since October 2003. During the 2003 Halloween event, for the first time, I was able to image aurora in Virginia with my first digital camera. The G5-level storm produced bright aurora seen around the world, including in our area.
Aurora visible in our region
The aurora we saw from the G5 event was not a one and done occurrence. In fact, we saw solar activity that produced multiple aurora sightings throughout 2023 and 2024.
- In March 2023, the northern lights made their rare appearance in some parts of Virginia (and perhaps the whole D.C. region).
- In April 2023, aurora made another appearance across the D.C. region.
- In November 2023, another occurrence was accounted for in the D.C. area.
- In July 2024, predicted visibility of aurora in lower Pennsylvania made it possible for some people to see it in our area.
- In August 2024, after the annual Perseid meteor shower, folks across the Shenandoah National Park and other parts of Virginia reported spotting aurora.
- In October 2024, viewers across the D.C. region were able to see the northern lights.
These and other geomagnetic storm events, including very probable future ones over the next year or so, are being caused by the sun reaching solar maximum.
WTOP’s 2024 in Review:
- A look at some of the biggest stories from the DC area
- Tall tails: Where WTOP’s ‘Pet of the Week’ pups are now
- A look back: Top DC-area sports stories of 2024
- Top local business stories of 2024 in DC area
- Book Report: Must-read books of 2024
Solar Maximum
Our star goes through an eleven-year solar cycle, going from solar minimum to solar maximum.
At present, the sun is in Solar Cycle 25, which began in 2020 and is now in the solar maximum phase, as announced jointly by NASA and NOAA on Oct. 15, 2024:
“During the most active part of the cycle, known as solar maximum, the sun can unleash immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation — all of which create conditions known as space weather. Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on earth. When the sun is most active, space weather events become more frequent. Solar activity, such as the storm in May 2024, has led to increased aurora visibility and impacts on satellites and infrastructure in recent months.”
“Scientists anticipate that the maximum phase will last another year or so before the sun enters the declining phase, which leads back to solar minimum.”
This means aurora sightings might be in our future skies.
Solar superflare occurrences
Solar researchers announced findings in December about sun-like stars that make it all the more imperative we closely monitor our star due to its potentially dangerous solar superflares.
The most energetic solar flare event currently known is the 1859 Carrington Event. The research determined that solar superflares are estimated to be 10,000 times more powerful than the sun’s typical solar flare events, and 100 times more energetic than the Carrington Event.
If a superflare were to occur, satellites would be very vulnerable as the event could have serious impacts on our technology. Precautions could be taken to minimize the effects.
Accurate forecasting of solar events and the resulting space weather is essential.
In 2008, the National Academies Press published, “Severe Space Weather Events: Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report,” which details the connection between the earth and sun from a “societal context.”
The report establishes the absolutely necessary requirement that we monitor the sun so that accurate forecasts of solar events can be made in order to mitigate their impact on our technologically-dependent society.
The ‘Great American Eclipse’
On April 8, 2024, the sun was totally eclipsed by the moon across parts of the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Described as maybe the most viewed astronomical event in history, clouds ruined the view for many, myself included in Texas, but others were treated to an awesome spectacle.
The next total solar eclipse will be in 2026 and I plan to be on a cruise ship off the coast of Iceland.
As we ring in 2025, make it a New Year resolution to take a peek at the night sky using WTOP’s new monthly space happenings feature. On the first of each month, WTOP will post my story about what’s going on in our region’s skies and other related astronomical events.
Have a marvelous and safe New Year celebration everyone!
Follow Greg Redfern on Facebook, X and his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.
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