A Pileup of Coronal Mass Ejections Produced the Largest Geomagnetic Storm in Two Decades

Autor: Ying D. Liu, Huidong Hu, Xiaowei Zhao, Chong Chen, Rui Wang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol 974, Iss 1, p L8 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2041-8213
2041-8205
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad7ba4
Popis: The largest geomagnetic storm in two decades occurred in 2024 May with a minimum D _st of −412 nT. We examine its solar and interplanetary origins by combining multipoint imaging and in situ observations. The source active region, NOAA AR 13664, exhibited extraordinary activity and produced successive halo eruptions, which were responsible for two complex ejecta observed at the Earth. In situ measurements from STEREO A, which was 12.°6 apart, allow us to compare the “geo-effectiveness” at the Earth and STEREO A. We obtain key findings concerning the formation of solar superstorms and how mesoscale variations of coronal mass ejections affect geo-effectiveness: (1) the 2024 May storm supports the hypothesis that solar superstorms are “perfect storms” in nature, i.e., a combination of circumstances resulting in an event of an unusual magnitude; (2) the first complex ejecta, which caused the geomagnetic superstorm, shows considerable differences in the magnetic field and associated “geo-effectiveness” between the Earth and STEREO A, despite a mesoscale separation; and (3) two contrasting cases of complex ejecta are found in terms of the geo-effectiveness at the Earth, which is largely due to different magnetic field configurations within the same active region.
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