1
00:00:02,590 --> 00:00:04,440
In May 2024,

2
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:09,800
a spectacular multicolored light show flooded the skies across the world.

3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,800
These displays are known as the auroras.

4
00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,310
They’re usually seen near the polar regions,

5
00:00:15,310 --> 00:00:21,640
but that May, skywatchers spotted the glowing lights far from Earth’s poles. 

6
00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:27,110
People were witnessing the biggest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years.

7
00:00:27,110 --> 00:00:31,050
This storm was so intense. It was the most intense in two decades.

8
00:00:31,050 --> 00:00:35,470
This was one of those large events that we've been talking about for years.

9
00:00:35,470 --> 00:00:39,430
It all began from this active region on the Sun. 

10
00:00:39,430 --> 00:00:42,410
Active regions are known for having intense magnetic fields,

11
00:00:42,410 --> 00:00:45,000
and the more tangled those fields become,

12
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,780
the more likely they are to erupt.

13
00:00:47,780 --> 00:00:50,300
We watched the active region evolve

14
00:00:50,300 --> 00:00:53,660
and we thought that this might be something to watch.

15
00:00:53,660 --> 00:00:55,100
It might be something active.

16
00:00:55,100 --> 00:01:00,470
Eventually, the active region unleashed a chain of huge solar eruptions

17
00:01:00,470 --> 00:01:02,020
directly towards us.

18
00:01:02,020 --> 00:01:08,280
What made it so strong was the fact that there was so much energy put off by the Sun.

19
00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,600
It was really great conditions for the perfect storm.

20
00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,800
On May 10, the eruptions reached Earth,

21
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,850
triggering a global disruption to Earth's magnetic field

22
00:01:18,850 --> 00:01:21,650
known as a geomagnetic storm.

23
00:01:21,650 --> 00:01:26,220
It was rated a “G5,” the rarest and strongest type.

24
00:01:26,220 --> 00:01:29,850
The powerful storm pushed auroras to appear in unusual places

25
00:01:29,850 --> 00:01:32,410
like Arizona in the United States

26
00:01:32,410 --> 00:01:35,140
and Perth in Australia.

27
00:01:35,140 --> 00:01:37,000
That energy interacted with the Earth

28
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,220
and created the aurora

29
00:01:38,220 --> 00:01:42,150
and caused all sorts of disturbances that we felt here on the ground.

30
00:01:42,150 --> 00:01:47,610
The storm caused some high-voltage lines to trip and transformers to overheat.

31
00:01:47,610 --> 00:01:51,390
GPS-guided tractors also veered off-course,

32
00:01:51,390 --> 00:01:54,080
further disrupting crucial planting time

33
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:58,050
that had already been delayed by heavy rains that spring.

34
00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:01,530
In the air, trans-Atlantic flights rerouted

35
00:02:01,530 --> 00:02:03,820
due to risks of high radiation exposure

36
00:02:03,820 --> 00:02:07,220
and communication and navigation disruptions.

37
00:02:07,220 --> 00:02:13,240
Farther up, NASA’s GOLD spacecraft saw Earth’s upper atmosphere get unusually hot.

38
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,560
The temperature 100 miles up in the thermosphere

39
00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,940
usually peaks at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

40
00:02:19,940 --> 00:02:24,840
But during the storm, it reached 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

41
00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:30,210
The heating caused the atmosphere to expand, which affected satellites.

42
00:02:30,210 --> 00:02:36,580
There were thousands of satellites that had to move their orbits because the storm was coming through.

43
00:02:36,580 --> 00:02:40,330
The storm also affected the space beyond Earth.

44
00:02:40,330 --> 00:02:45,540
It created two new temporary belts of energetic particles around our planet,

45
00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:51,820
adding to Earth’s two permanent ones, which are known as the Van Allen radiation belts.

46
00:02:51,820 --> 00:02:55,190
The particles in these belts can harm orbiting satellites

47
00:02:55,190 --> 00:02:57,360
and astronauts heading for deep space,

48
00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,020
so NASA studies them closely.

49
00:03:00,020 --> 00:03:05,240
As the Sun rotated, the active region eventually moved away from Earth

50
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,520
and redirected its outbursts towards Mars.

51
00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:13,300
On Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover saw solar particles from the storm.

52
00:03:13,300 --> 00:03:19,250
The rover also recorded the biggest surge of radiation since it landed in 2012.

53
00:03:19,250 --> 00:03:22,060
If an astronaut had been on the Martian surface,

54
00:03:22,060 --> 00:03:28,290
 they would have received a radiation dose equivalent to 30 chest X-rays at once.

55
00:03:28,290 --> 00:03:31,580
With spacecraft throughout the solar system

56
00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:33,710
and modern cameras in so many people’s pockets,

57
00:03:33,710 --> 00:03:37,270
the storm was the most well-documented in history.

58
00:03:37,270 --> 00:03:38,960
There's lots of data.

59
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,420
We're able to actually use that data to understand things

60
00:03:42,420 --> 00:03:45,590
and predict more and more how this is going to affect our Earth.

61
00:03:45,590 --> 00:03:48,170
Although the storm passed within days,

62
00:03:48,170 --> 00:03:52,510
NASA will continue to learn from the observations for years to come,

63
00:03:52,510 --> 00:03:55,760
helping us better prepare for the next big storm.

64
00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:05,035