Strong solar activity involving the release of substantial energy and charged particles can lead to disturbance in the Earth’s atmosphere, known as a geomagnetic storm. This can affect the near-Earth space environment for several days. The finding origins from research by Japan’s Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE) – Nagoya Institute of Technology, and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT).
The team observed the effects of a super geomagnetic storm that occurred on May 10, 2024. By analyzing data from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Japan’s geo-space exploration satellite Arase, the researchers showed that the plasmasphere – a plasma-containing near-Earth region of space – was severely suppressed by the geomagnetic storm. Only after four days had the region recovered to its state before the geomagnetic storm.
The results help in understanding the interplay between the Earth’s outer atmosphere and the space environment. This, in turn, has implications for the accuracy of communication signals, satellites operations, and human spaceflight.
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Submitted by Morten Anderson
