The Institute of Space Research summed up the results of the strongest geomagnetic storm of the 21st century

The storm of May 12-13 was the second act of solar attack on the Earth

The strongest geomagnetic storm of this century, or rather an extreme geomagnetic storm, the peaks of which several times reached the highest score — G5, ended by noon on May 13th.

Photo: nasa.gov

As reported by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the storm that raged on May 10-12 was caused by flares that occurred on the Sun on May 8. Despite the fact that the solar wind usually travels the distance to the Earth (150 million kilometers) in three to four days, this time its speed was twice as high, and therefore the emissions reached the Earth’s magnetosphere two days later, by the evening of May 10.< /p>

Approximately an hour before arriving at Earth, coronal ejections were recorded by several satellites operating 1.5 kilometers from Earth. In addition to doubling the speed of the solar wind, the devices transmitted information about a sixfold (!) increase in its magnetic field.

Having reached our planet, it immediately caused a magnetic storm exceeding the G4 level, and after midnight the level increased to the maximum — G5. Over the next day, May 11, there were several such peaks. This caused the auroras to spread to 40 degrees north latitude. In the evening hours, even residents of the southern regions of Russia admired the colorful streaks in the sky, which has not happened for the last 20 years.

On May 12, flares continued on the Sun, but since they approached the Earth tangentially, the level of geomagnetic disturbance from them did not exceed G2 and G3 on May 12-13. This “second act” of the unprecedented solar attack on Earth was completed by noon on Monday, May 13.