In early April 2023, the Sun experienced an intense solar storm that opened up the unique phenomenon of a “two-way highway” of charged particles between Earth and the Sun. This event even caused rare auroras on the Sun.
Solar storms often interact with the Earth’s magnetic field to create auroras on our planet. But on April 24, 2023, the burst of charged particles was so massive that it caused very bright auroras on Earth in regions where they almost never occur. The glows were visible south of Arizona, Arkansas, Australia and over New Zealand.
The anomaly was made possible by a rare phenomenon – the temporary disappearance of a bow shock wave that usually protects the Earth from solar winds. This allowed charged particles to move in both directions – from the Sun to the Earth and back again. The solar plasma wind, known as a coronal mass ejection, typically travels slower than the Alfvén waves that carry magnetic waves through the plasma. But this time the speed of the ejection exceeded the speed of the Alfven, resulting in a “two-way highway”. It was Alfven’s “wings” that magnetically connected our planet to the part of the Sun that recently erupted, NASA believed.
“Particles trapped by Earth’s magnetism suddenly have a direct path to the Sun!” NASA wrote on social media.
As the solar eruption rushed over our planet, Earth was completely engulfed by the particle cloud.
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) August 6, 2024
At one point, while surrounded by the storm, a part of Earth’s magnetic “shield” briefly dissipated.
(Don’t worry, our thick atmosphere still protects us on Earth!) pic.twitter.com/wR5FeA9p15
This event has generated considerable interest among scientists as plasma from our planet has returned to the Sun, causing auroras. Although these auroras were probably too dim to be observed from Earth, their existence is a unique scientific discovery.
This process resembles similar phenomena in other parts of our solar system, such as on Jupiter, where charged particles from the moons Io and Ganymede form magnetic “highways” that cause auroras on the gas giant.
NASA research has provided unprecedented information about the interaction between the Earth and the Sun, revealing new aspects of magnetic coupling in our Solar System.
Earlier we told you interesting facts about solar flares.
According to livescience.com
