Biggest Solar Storm in 20 Years Has Hit The Earth. But It's Not Over Yet

The Sun had a busy week. The most powerful solar storm in the last two decades recently hit Earth, creating stunning displays of auroras, often known as the Northern and Southern Lights. This event was caused by a group of sunspots (AR 3664), about 16 times the size of Earth. They released several X-class solar flares and coronal mass ejections directly toward our planet. These solar emissions led to severe geomagnetic storms, ranked at the highest intensity level of G5, marking the most intense storms since the 2003 Halloween storms.

So, what really happened on the surface of the Sun that caused the geomagnetic storm? How did it create such a stunning display of light 150 million km away? Finally, and most importantly, what will happen when the sunspot group faces our planet again after two weeks?

? REFERENCES:

NASA Video on Solar Flares: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14588
Space Weather Live: https://bit.ly/3wA1fPU
Science of Auroras: https://bit.ly/3yvxf8b
Solar Activity and Flares: https://bit.ly/4am3Vyf

? Music: Envato Elements, YouTube Audio Library, and MotionElements
? Footage: Envato Elements, StoryBlocks, NASA, ESA, Space.com, and Pond5
? AR 3664 Close-Up Shots: Miguel Claro
? Red Auroras Shot by: Miguel Claro

? Written, Created, and Produced by: Rishabh Nakra
?️ Narrated by: Jeffrey Smith
? Animated by: Sankalp Dash