Solar activity was on the rise this year, which meant an abundance of amazing solar storm-related stories. Here are our favorites.
Solar storms are becoming more frequent and powerful as the sun nears the peak of its 11-year solar activity cycle, which will occur in 2025. As a result, 2022 delivered an abundance of fascinating solar storm stories. From surprise storms and massive sunspots to vibrant aurora explosions and other weird phenomena, here are some of our favorites.
The unexpected solar storm coincided with the peak of an extremely rare five-planet alignment, where Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn lined up in the sky in order of their proximity to the sun .Explosion of pink auroras An explosion of extremely rare pink auroras was seen in the night sky above Norway after a solar storm slammed into Earth and ripped a hole in the planet's magnetic field.
Read more: Solar storm smashes hole in Earth's magnetosphere, triggering extremely rare pink auroras Radio blackouts in Southern Hemisphere A surprise solar flare caused a temporary radio blackout in parts of Australia and all of New Zealand. Powerful 'proton aurora' New research showed that, during a 2015 solar storm, an unusual type of aurora tore a 250-mile-wide hole in the upper ozone layer.
STEVE is often misinterpreted as auroras and normally appears only after strong auroral displays during solar storms. However, it is not actually an aurora. Auroras occur when high-energy particles collide with gas molecules and heat them up, creating an instantaneous release of energy. But STEVE is caused by a prolonged increase in kinetic energy from auroras that heats up the surrounding gas.
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