VOA科学技术2024--Severe Solar Storm Hits Earth, Causing Colorful Light Shows

Earth was recently hit by the most powerful solar storm in more than 20 years.

The storm caused some colorful light shows in some parts of the world, but no major damage was reported. Solar storms can hurt the operation of some equipment on Earth that uses radio waves. This includes GPS services, electrical systems and satellites.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹ Administration (NOAA) issued warnings about the storm before it reached Earth on May 10. In a statement, NOAA said it had observed heavy solar storm activity in the days before. Based on the activity, the agency issued a Geomagnetic Storm Warning.

Solar storms can involve two different processes. One is called a solar flare², while the other is a coronal mass ejection (CME). Both involve huge releases from the sun of magnetic field energy and a substance called plasma⁴. The American space agency NASA explains that plasma is a form of matter made up of ionized particles. This means the particles have taken in so much energy that it causes electrons to separate from their atoms.

Solar flares⁵ travel at the speed of light in all directions. They can reach Earth in about eight minutes. But CMEs travel much slower. They reach Earth in one to three days. NOAA said a strong "solar flare event" had led to the latest CMEs hitting Earth.

NASA says its observatories⁶ see solar flares as flashes of light on the sun, while CMEs are seen as large explosions spreading out into space. The agency examines data from its Parker Solar Probe on plasma flowing out of the sun's corona³.

Because the latest CME explosions were directed at Earth, they caused geomagnetic storms. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning, calling the storm activity "an unusual and potentially historic event."

NOAA noted⁷ that such storms can cause problems for some communication systems. The agency informed major power operators and NASA officials about the storm activity. The electric power grid⁸ can also be affected⁹, or disrupted, along with radio, satellite and spacecraft operations.

NOAA noted that severe geomagnetic storms can also produce intense, colorful light shows, or displays, in the sky. Such shows are also known as auroras.

Colorful displays could be seen overnight in different parts of the world. Reuters news agency reported on several areas in Latin America experiencing auroras after the solar storm activity. In Mexico's desert city of Mexicali, pink and purple light could be seen lighting¹¹ up the night sky last Friday and Saturday.

In Chile, Reuters reported local media and social media users shared photos of the sky in the city of Punta Arenas¹², where the lights took on red and purple tones. Local media in Argentina also reported similar displays in the Patagonian city of Ushuaia.

The French news agency AFP reported social media services were filled up with people publishing images of auroras from areas including northern Europe and Australasia.

Iain Mansfield lives in Hertford, Britain. He told AFP, "We've just woken the kids to go watch the Northern Lights in the back garden! Clearly visible with the naked eye."

Other people also compared the intense color shows to the Northern Lights. Sometimes also called aurora¹⁰ borealis, the Northern Lights are natural, colored light displays that sometimes appear in the night sky in the most northern parts of the world.

From Australia's island state of Tasmania, photographer Sean O' Riordan published a message on X explaining what he saw. "Absolutely biblical skies in Tasmania at 4am this morning. I'm leaving today and knew I could not pass up this opportunity."

People in the United States were also able to see colorful auroras, including parts of the West Coast and as far south as Alabama.

The most intense solar storm in recorded history happened in 1859. It mainly produced auroras in Central America. A severe geomagnetic storm in 2003 cut power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.

Storm activity coming from the sun generally intensifies¹³ as it reaches the height of a repeating, 11-year solar cycle. The activity increases as the sun experiences magnetic field changes that affect its polar areas

Words in This Story

potential - adj. possible when the necessary conditions exist

grid - n. a system of wires through which electricity is connected to different power stations across a particular area

tone - n. a form or degree of color

garden - n. a piece of land, usually in a yard next to a house, where things are grown

the naked eye - n. something that can be seen with just the eyes, without the need for devices or special equipment

opportunity - n. the chance to do something

1 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

2 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

3 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

4 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

5 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 observatories   

n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

11 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

12 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

13 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》