SIU researchers: Expect solar flares to cause celestial light show, disruptions

October 04, 2024

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Solar observers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale said the highest energy solar flare of this solar cycle erupted Thursday morning (Oct. 3), and scientists are expecting impacts on Earth in the next few days, ranging from the Northern Lights occurring much further south than usual to disruptions in telecommunications.

The X class 9.0 flare peaked at 7:18 a.m. with higher energy than the X8.7 flare that occurred in May and resulted in aurora visible into the southern United States. The two flares occurring this week will result in communications disruptions and an aurora over at least the northern U.S. and potentially further south, said Bob Baer, associate scientist in the School of Physics and Applied Physics at SIU.

"There is a good chance that people in this area will get cell phone pics of the aurora over the next few nights," Baer said. "Even though we may not notice it visually, it will probably show up on cell pics in night mode."

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are brought on by the interaction of Earth's magnetic field and high-energy particles emanating from a sunspot cluster that is rotating to face Earth. Scientists have been predicting the possibility of solar storms of varying intensity as the sun entered its cyclical active phase known as "solar max." Spaceweather.com has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for these latest coronal mass ejections.

SIU faculty are deeply involved in solar research, currently conducting the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative (DEB), a two-year, $314,000 project that equipped, coordinated and trained more than 80 teams of citizen science observers across North America - providing critical coronal data as the moon's shadow traversed the continent. DEB initiative observation teams conduct daily solar observations to collect data on white light solar flares.

Media availability

SIU researchers are available for interviews, including:

• Cori Brevik, an associate professor in the School of Physics and Applied Physics, is involved with several solar research projects and is leading a team of researchers from SIU and Adler Planetarium in Chicago on the REAL Field Trip Model. Funded by a two-year, $465,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, the project is aimed at pioneering a way to allow any school, regardless of location, to actively participate in large-scale scientific events. REAL stands for Remote Engagement and Access to Learning.
• Bob Baer, associate scientist with the School of Physics and Applied Physics, is involved with solar research and helped lead SIU's scientific efforts during the two total solar eclipses to hit the area in 2017 and 2024.

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