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What NASA Is Learning from the Biggest Geomagnetic Storm in 20 Years

By NASA
May 9 in NASA

https://www.aliensandspace.com/topic/17831-what-nasa-is-learning-from-the-biggest-geomagnetic-storm-in-20-years/

What NASA Is Learning from the Biggest Geomagnetic Storm in 20 Years

One year on, NASA scientists are still making huge discoveries about the largest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in two decades, the Gannon storm. The findings are helping us better understand and prepare for the ways in which the Sun’s activity can affect us.

On May 10, 2024, the first G5 or “severe” geomagnetic storm in over two decades hit Earth. The event did not cause any catastrophic damages, but it did produce surprising effects on Earth. The storm, which has been called the best-documented geomagnetic storm in history, spread auroras to unusually low latitudes and produced effects spanning from the ground to near-Earth space. Data captured during this historic event will be analyzed for years to come, revealing new lessons about the nature of geomagnetic storms and how best to weather them. Credit: NASA/Joy Ng

One year ago today, representatives from NASA and about 30 other U.S. government agencies gathered for a special meeting to simulate and address a threat looming in space. The threat was not an asteroid or aliens, but our very own life-giving Sun.

The inaugural Space Weather Tabletop Exercise was supposed to be a training event, where experts could work through the real-time ramifications of a geomagnetic storm, a global disruption to Earth’s magnetic field. Driven by solar eruptions, geomagnetic storms can decimate satellites, overload electrical grids, and expose astronauts to dangerous radiation. Minimizing the impacts of such storms requires close coordination, and this meeting was their chance to practice.

Then, their simulation turned into reality.

“The plan was to run through a hypothetical scenario, finding where our existing processes worked and where they needed improvement,” said Jamie Favors, director of NASA’s Space Weather Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “But then our hypothetical scenario was interrupted by a very real one.”

On May 10, 2024, the first G5 or “severe” geomagnetic storm in over two decades hit Earth. The event, named the Gannon storm in memory of leading space weather physicist Jennifer Gannon, did not cause any catastrophic damages. But a year on, key insights from the Gannon storm are helping us understand and prepare for future geomagnetic storms.

A detailed, fiery image of the Sun showing bright solar flares and textured surface, with a small inset at the bottom right comparing the tiny size of Earth to the massive scale of the Sun.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of the Sun on May 7, 2024, in extreme ultraviolet light (at a wavelength of 304 Ångstroms). At center, the active region that instigated the Gannon storm stretches approximately 17 times the size of Earth. (A scaled image of Earth is inset for size reference.) In early May 2024, the active region released a chain of powerful solar eruptions, including several coronal mass ejections, or CMEs — giant clouds of solar particles — that merged to form a superstorm that reached Earth on May 10. Ahead of the storm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, issued its first severe geomagnetic storm watch in almost two decades.

NASA/Helioviewer

Storm Consequences

The Gannon storm had effects on and off our planet.

On the ground, some high-voltage lines tripped, transformers overheated, and GPS-guided tractors veered off-course in the Midwestern U.S., further disrupting planting that had already been delayed by heavy rains that spring.

A green tractor with yellow wheels pulls a red trailer across a flat, dirt-covered field with some trees, a field of green plants, and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Some modern tractors use GPS to help farmers plant efficiently and maximize crop yields. During the Gannon storm in May 2024, however, certain GPS-guided tractor models veered off course or stopped working, disrupting or delaying planting for many U.S. farmers.

Storyblocks

“Not all farms were affected, but those that were lost on average about $17,000 per farm,” said Terry Griffin, a professor of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University. “It’s not catastrophic, but they’ll miss it.”

In the air, the threat of higher radiation exposure, as well as communication and navigation losses, forced trans-Atlantic flights to change course.

May 11, 2024

May 18, 2024

May 11, 2024

May 18, 2024

Before and After

Trans-Atlantic Flights Rerouted during Gannon Storm

May 11, 2024 – May 18, 2024

During the Gannon storm on May 10 and 11, 2024, many trans-Atlantic flights took more southerly routes across the ocean to avoid the risk of higher radiation for passengers and crew, as well as to avoid potential communication and navigation losses closer to the North Pole. The first image shows a snapshot of flight patterns on May 11, 2024, at 3:30 UTC (11:30 p.m. EDT on May 10) during the Gannon storm, when flights were redirected to more southern routes. The second image shows the flight patterns one week later, on May 18, 2024, at 3:30 UTC as flights followed their typical route. Credit: Flightradar24

During the storm, Earth’s upper atmospheric layer called the thermosphere heated to unusually high temperatures. At 100 miles altitude, the temperature typically peaks at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, but during the storm it surpassed 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. NASA’s GOLD (Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk) mission observed the atmosphere expanding from the heat to create a strong wind that lofted heavy nitrogen particles higher.

A circular heatmap shows a swirling pattern of colors, with red and yellow regions indicating higher values, and blue and green areas showing lower values. The overlay covers the Atlantic Ocean and parts of surrounding continents.

The unique swirls in this image of GOLD data, show the ratio of lighter oxygen to nitrogen — a key atmospheric indicator — that exhibited a previously unseen structure in Earth’s thermosphere.

Evans et al. 2024

In orbit, the expanded atmosphere increased drag on thousands of satellites. NASA’s ICESat-2 lost altitude and entered safe mode while NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) CubeSat deorbited prematurely five months after the storm. Others, such as the European Space Agency’s Sentinel mission, required more power to maintain their orbits and perform maneuvers to avoid collisions with space debris.

The storm also dramatically changed the structure of an atmospheric layer called the ionosphere. A dense zone of the ionosphere that normally covers the equator at night dipped toward the South Pole in a check mark shape, causing a temporary gap near the equator.

The Gannon storm also rocked Earth’s magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble surrounding the planet. Data from NASA missions MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) and THEMIS-ARTEMIS — short for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions-Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun — saw giant, curling waves of particles and rolled-up magnetic fields along the edge of the CMEs. These waves were perfectly sized to periodically dump extra magnetic energy and mass into the magnetosphere upon impact, creating the largest electrical current seen in the magnetosphere in 20 years.

Incoming energy and particles from the Sun also created two new temporary belts of energetic particles within the magnetosphere. Discovered by CIRBE, these belts formed between the Van Allen radiation belts that permanently surround Earth. The belt’s discovery is important to spacecraft and astronauts that can be imperiled by high-energy electrons and protons in the belts.

Illustration of Earth surrounded by colorful, concentric rings representing the Van Allen radiation belts, with white magnetic field lines arching around the planet against a black space background.

The Gannon storm created two extra radiation belts, sandwiched between the two permanent Van Allen Belts. One of the new belts, shown in purple, included a population of protons, giving it a unique composition that hadn’t been seen before. The discovery of the new belts is particularly important for protecting spacecraft launching into geostationary orbits, since they travel through the Van Allen Belts several times before reaching their final orbit.

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Kristen Perrin

Unusual Auroras

The storm also ignited auroras around the globe, including places where these celestial light shows are rare. NASA’s Aurorasaurus project was flooded with more than 6,000 observer reports from over 55 countries and all seven continents.

Photographers helped scientists understand why auroras observed throughout Japan were magenta rather than the typical red. Researchers studied hundreds of photos and found the auroras were surprisingly high — around 600 miles above the ground (200 miles higher than red auroras typically appear).

A torii gate stands by the shore with a small hill in the background, under a night sky filled with stars, a bright moon, and vivid purple and pink auroras.

In Japan, where it’s typical to see red auroras, numerous skywatchers captured photos of unusual magenta auroras instead. With the help of hundreds of photos like this one shared via social media, researchers found the magenta auroras were exceptionally high — around 600 miles above the ground (compared to a typical maximum height of 400 miles for red auroras, which are usually the highest).

KAGAYA

In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the research team says the peculiar color likely resulted from a mix of red and blue auroras, produced by oxygen and nitrogen molecules lofted higher than usual as the Gannon storm heated and expanded the upper atmosphere.

“It typically needs some special circumstances, like we saw last May,” co-author Josh Pettit of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said of Japan’s magenta auroras. “A very unique event indeed.”

Otherworldly Effects

Impacts of the Sun’s amped-up solar activity didn’t end at Earth. The solar active region that sparked the Gannon storm eventually rotated away from our planet and redirected its outbursts toward Mars.

As energetic particles from the Sun struck the Martian atmosphere, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter watched auroras engulf the Red Planet from May 14 to 20.

An animated gif of Mars, appearing in grayscale, with a pixellated pattern of purple and white lights shimmering on the left half of the planet, indicating auroras detected by NASA's MAVEN spacecraft.

The purple color in this animated GIF shows auroras across Mars’ nightside as detected by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter. The brighter the purple, the more auroras were present. MAVEN took these images between May 14 and 20, 2024, as energetic particles from a solar storm were arriving at Mars. The sequence pauses at the end, when the most energetic particles arrived and overwhelmed the instrument with noise. MAVEN made the observations as it orbited below Mars, looking up at the nightside of the planet. (Mars’ south pole can be seen on the right, in full sunlight.)

NASA/University of Colorado/LASP

Solar particles overwhelmed the star camera on NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter (which uses stars to orient the spacecraft), causing the camera to cut out for almost an hour.

On the Martian surface, images from the navigation cameras on NASA’s Curiosity rover were freckled with “snow” — streaks and specks caused by charged particles. Meanwhile, Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector recorded the biggest surge of radiation since the rover landed in 2012. If astronauts had been there, they would have received a radiation dose of 8,100 micrograys — equivalent to 30 chest X-rays.

A black-and-white photo of a rocky Martian landscape, featuring a large sloped hill with visible layers on the right and a smaller peak in the distance under a hazy sky. Specks of white appear to dot the image from time to time, a response to solar energetic particles from the Sun hitting the camera.

The specks in this image sequence were caused by charged particles from the Sun hitting one of the navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover on May 20, 2024. The sequence also shows the effects of a wind gust that happened to occur at the same time on the Martian surface.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Still More to Come

The Gannon storm spread auroras to unusually low latitudes and has been called the best-documented geomagnetic storm in history. A year on, we have just begun unraveling its story. Data captured during this historic event will be analyzed for years to come, revealing new lessons about the nature of geomagnetic storms and how best to weather them.

By Mara Johnson-Groh, Miles Hatfield, and Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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  Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 6 Min Read Frigid Exoplanet in Strange Orbit Imaged by NASA’s Webb
  This image of exoplanet 14 Herculis c was taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). A star symbol marks the location of the host star 14 Herculis, whose light has been blocked by a coronagraph on NIRCam (shown here as a dark circle outlined in white). Credits:
  NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, W. Balmer (JHU), D. Bardalez Gagliuffi (Amherst College) A planetary system described as abnormal, chaotic, and strange by researchers has come into clearer view with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), researchers have successfully imaged one of two known planets surrounding the star 14 Herculis, located 60 light-years away from Earth in our own Milky Way galaxy.
  The exoplanet, 14 Herculis c, is one of the coldest imaged to date. While there are nearly 6,000 exoplanets that have been discovered, only a small number of those have been directly imaged, most of those being very hot (think hundreds or even thousands of degrees Fahrenheit). The new data suggests 14 Herculis c, which weighs about 7 times the planet Jupiter, is as cool as 26 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 3 degrees Celsius).
  Image: 14 Herculis c (NIRCam)
  This image of exoplanet 14 Herculis c was taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). A star symbol marks the location of the host star 14 Herculis, whose light has been blocked by a coronagraph on NIRCam (shown here as a dark circle outlined in white). NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, W. Balmer (JHU), D. Bardalez Gagliuffi (Amherst College) The team’s results covering 14 Herculis c have been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters and were presented in a press conference Tuesday at the 246th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Anchorage, Alaska.
  “The colder an exoplanet, the harder it is to image, so this is a totally new regime of study that Webb has unlocked with its extreme sensitivity in the infrared,” said William Balmer, co-first author of the new paper and graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. “We are now able to add to the catalog of not just hot, young exoplanets imaged, but older exoplanets that are far colder than we’ve directly seen before Webb.”
  Webb’s image of 14 Herculis c also provides insights into a planetary system unlike most others studied in detail with Webb and other ground- and space-based `observatories. The central star, 14 Herculis, is almost Sun-like – it is similar in age and temperature to our own Sun, but a little less massive and cooler.
  There are two planets in this system – 14 Herculis b is closer to the star, and covered by the coronagraphic mask in the Webb image. These planets don’t orbit each other on the same plane like our solar system. Instead, they cross each other like an ‘X’, with the star being at the center. That is, the orbital planes of the two planets are inclined relative to one another at an angle of about 40 degrees. The planets tug and pull at one another as they orbit the star.
  This is the first time an image has ever been snapped of an exoplanet in such a mis-aligned system.
  Scientists are working on several theories for just how the planets in this system got so “off track.” One of the leading concepts is that the planets scattered after a third planet was violently ejected from the system early in its formation.
  “The early evolution of our own solar system was dominated by the movement and pull of our own gas giants,” added Balmer. “They threw around asteroids and rearranged other planets. Here, we are seeing the aftermath of a more violent planetary crime scene. It reminds us that something similar could have happened to our own solar system, and that the outcomes for small planets like Earth are often dictated by much larger forces.”
  Understanding the Planet’s Characteristics With Webb
  Webb’s new data is giving researchers further insights into not just the temperature of 14 Herculis c, but other details about the planet’s orbit and atmosphere.
  Findings indicate the planet orbits around 1.4 billion miles from the host star in a highly elliptical, or football-shaped orbit, closer in than previous estimates. This is around 15 times farther from the Sun than Earth. On average, this would put 14 Herculis c between Saturn and Uranus in our solar system.
  The planet’s brightness at 4.4 microns measured using Webb’s coronagraph, combined with the known mass of the planet and age of the system, hints at some complex atmospheric dynamics at play.
  “If a planet of a certain mass formed 4 billion years ago, then cooled over time because it doesn’t have a source of energy keeping it warm, we can predict how hot it should be today,” said Daniella C. Bardalez Gagliuffi of Amherst College, co-first author on the paper with Balmer. “Added information, like the perceived brightness in direct imaging, would in theory support this estimate of the planet’s temperature.”
  However, what researchers expect isn’t always reflected in the results. With 14 Herculis c, the brightness at this wavelength is fainter than expected for an object of this mass and age. The research team can explain this discrepancy, though. It’s called carbon disequilibrium chemistry, something often seen in brown dwarfs.
  “This exoplanet is so cold, the best comparisons we have that are well-studied are the coldest brown dwarfs,” Bardalez Gagliuffi explained. “In those objects, like with 14 Herculis c, we see carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide existing at temperatures where we should see methane. This is explained by churning in the atmosphere. Molecules made at warmer temperatures in the lower atmosphere are brought to the cold, upper atmosphere very quickly.”
  Researchers hope Webb’s image of 14 Herculis c is just the beginning of a new phase of investigation into this strange system.
  While the small dot of light obtained by Webb contains a plethora of information, future spectroscopic studies of 14 Herculis could better constrain the atmospheric properties of this interesting planet and help researchers understand the dynamics and formation pathways of the system.
  The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
  To learn more about Webb, visit:
  https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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  Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
  NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
  Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu
  Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
  Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
  Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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  Last Updated Jun 10, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
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- NASA Student Challenge Prepares Future Designers for Lunar Missions
  By NASA
  
  4 Min Read NASA Student Challenge Prepares Future Designers for Lunar Missions
  At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the next generation of lunar explorers and engineers are already hard at work. Some started with sketchbooks and others worked with computer-aided design files, but all had a vision of how design could thrive in extreme environments.
  Thanks to NASA’s Student Design Challenge, Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS), those visions are finding their way into real mission technologies.
  NASA’s Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) teams test their augmented reality devices at the Mars Rock Yard during the 2025 test week at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
  Credit: NASA/James Blair The SUITS challenge invites university and graduate students from across the U.S. to design, build, and test interactive displays integrated into spacesuit helmets, continuing an eight-year tradition of hands-on field evaluations that simulate conditions astronauts may face on the lunar surface. The technology aims to support astronauts with real-time navigation, task management, and scientific data visualization during moonwalks. While the challenge provides a unique opportunity to contribute to future lunar missions, for many participants, SUITS offers something more: a launchpad to aerospace careers.
  The challenge fosters collaboration between students in design, engineering, and computer science—mirroring the teamwork needed for real mission development.
  NASA SUITS teams test their augmented reality devices at Johnson’s Mars Rock Yard on May 21, 2025.
  Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz SUITS taught me how design can be pushed to solve for the many niche challenges that come with an environment as unique and unforgiving as space.
  Keya Shah
  Softgoods Engineering Technologist
  Keya Shah, now a softgoods engineering technologist in Johnson’s Softgoods Laboratory, discovered her path through SUITS while studying industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
  “SUITS taught me how design can be pushed to solve for the many niche challenges that come with an environment as unique and unforgiving as space,” Shah said. “Whether applied to digital or physical products, it gave me a deep understanding of how intuitive and thoughtfully designed solutions are vital for space exploration.”
  As chief designer for her team’s 2024 Mars spacewalk project, Shah led more than 30 designers and developers through rounds of user flow mapping, iterative prototyping, and interface testing.
  “Design holds its value in making you think beyond just the ‘what’ to solve a problem and figure out ‘how’ to make the solution most efficient and user-oriented,” she said, “SUITS emphasized that, and I continually strive to highlight these strengths with the softgoods I design.”
  Shah now works on fabric-based flight hardware at Johnson, including thermal and acoustic insulation blankets, tool stowage packs, and spacesuit components.
  “There’s a very exciting future in human space exploration at the intersection of softgoods with hardgoods and the digital world, through innovations like smart textiles, wearable technology, and soft robotics,” Shah said. “I look forward to being part of it.”
  Softgoods Engineering Technologist Keya Shah evaluates the SUITS interface design during the 2025 test week.
  Credit: NASA/James Blair For RISD alumnus Felix Arwen, now a softgoods engineer at Johnson, the challenge offered invaluable hands-on experience. “It gave me the opportunity to take projects from concept to a finished, tested product—something most classrooms didn’t push me to do,” Arwen said.
  Serving as a technical adviser and liaison between SUITS designers and engineers, Arwen helped bridge gaps between disciplines—a skill critical to NASA’s team-based approach.
  “It seems obvious now, but I didn’t always realize how much design contributes to space exploration,” Arwen said. “The creative, iterative process is invaluable. Our work isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about usability, safety, and mission success.”
  Arwen played a key role in expanding RISD’s presence across multiple NASA Student Design Challenges, including the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, the Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams, and the Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing Idea Challenge. The teams, often partnering with Brown University, demonstrated how a design-focused education can uniquely contribute to solving complex engineering problems.
  “NASA’s Student Design Challenges gave me the structure to focus my efforts on learning new skills and pursuing projects I didn’t even know I’d be interested in,” he said.
  It seems obvious now, but I didn’t always realize how much design contributes to space exploration. The creative, iterative process is invaluable. Our work isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about usability, safety, and mission success.
  Felix Arwen
  Softgoods Engineer
  Softgoods Engineer Felix Arwen tests hardware while wearing pressurized gloves inside a vacuum glovebox. Both Arwen and Shah remain involved with SUITS as mentors and judges, eager to support the next generation of space designers.
  Their advice to current participants? Build a portfolio that reflects your passion, seek opportunities outside the classroom, and do not be afraid to apply for roles that might not seem to fit a designer.
  “While the number of openings for a designer at NASA might be low, there will always be a need for good design work, and if you have the portfolio to back it up, you can apply to engineering roles that just might not know they need you yet,” Arwen said.
  SUIT teams test their augmented reality devices during nighttime activities on May 21, 2025.
  Credit: NASA/Robert MarkowitzNASA/Robert Markowitz As NASA prepares for lunar missions, the SUITS challenge continues to bridge the gap between student imagination and real-world innovation, inspiring a new wave of space-ready problem-solvers.
  “Design pushes you to consistently ask ‘what if?’ and reimagine what’s possible,” Shah said. “That kind of perspective will always stay core to NASA.”
  Are you interested in joining the next NASA SUITS challenge? Find more information here.
  The next challenge will open for proposals at the end of August 2025.
  About the Author
  Sumer Loggins
  
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