About that title today, Look! Up in the sky! What is it? Nope, not Superman. I'll start with our sun. A massive geomagnetic solar storm was supposed hit Planet Earth on April 14. So what happened?
A G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm began at 12:45 pm EDT (1645 UTC) on 14 April, 2022. G1 (Minor) storm levels first occurred earlier, at 7:59 am EDT (1159 UTC). This activity is associated with the anticipated arrival of an 11 April coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME arrived at the NOAA DSCOVR spacecraft, about 1 million miles from Earth, early on 14 April. While an interplanetary shock ahead of the CME was not clearly observed, total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength gradually intensified to 20 nT and the Bz component (magnetic field orientation) turned into a prolonged, pronounced southward direction. Enhanced solar wind conditions continue to show the potential for elevated geomagnetic responses to the G1-G2 levels and Watches remain in effect for 14-15 April. Continue to follow our webpage for the latest forecasts, information, and updates.
- Only last year a study predicted that a "black swan" event could well occur in the next decade, and the odds were from 1.6% to 12%. Just incapacitation of the internet infrastructure would incur damages of $7 billion/day.
- The largest ever such storm, called the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859 when telegraph systems failed.
- Most impressively, AURORAS were seen around the world, and as far south as the Caribbean, even Hawaii. It was so bright in the Rocky Mountains that the glow woke gold miners.
- In 2013 it was speculated that if an equivalent event had occurred, the damage just to the U.S. could have been $2.6 trillion, 15.5% of the annual GDP.
- Investigating tree rings, solar storms of 7176BC, 774, and 993 were 10 times worse than the Carrington Event.
Even further out into space, the giant Bernardinelli-Bernstein Comet is hurtling toward us at 22,000 MPH, scheduled to arrive in 2031.
- At around 90 (the two guesses are 85 and 93) miles in diameter, it is 100,000 times greater than typical comets visiting us. Still 2.7 billion miles away (or only 29 times further away than we are).
- First seen by postdoctorate researcher Pedro Bernardinelli of the University of Washington, his then-adviser was Professor Gary Bernstein. Read about how Pedro found his solar moment.
- Closest approach of a billion miles will occur on 21January2031. Might get as bright as Saturn's largest moon Titan, so should be visible with a backyard telescope.
- Astroscientists are trying to convince NASA or the European Space Agency to send out a spacecraft.
The Blanco Telescope in Chile's Atacama Desert was used, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will come online next year to focus on this comet. Vera Rubin (right) is an astronomer probing the nature of dark matter. The actual telescope, once known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, will be named the Simonyi Survey Telescope, for Charles and Lisa Simonyi. Charles got rich during the beginning of Microsoft and is a billionaire who has been a space tourist to the International Space Station twice, and no doubt contributed a few bucks for the Observatory. They also gave $52,700 to help Donald Trump get elected in 2016, and another $200,000 for his re-election.
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