Solar physics: Towards better predicting of
geomagnetic storms *IMAGES*

Nature Communications
Embargo




London: Tuesday 26 May 2015 16:00 (BST)
New York: Tuesday 26 May 2015 11:00 (EDT)
Tokyo: Wednesday 27 May 2015 00:00 (JST)
Sydney: Wednesday 27 May 2015 01:00 (AEST)
The channelling of solar storms by the Sun’s magnetic field influences their direction and
therefore their potential to generate severe disturbances on Earth, reports a study published
online in Nature Communications. This explains why a coronal mass ejection (CME) in
January 2014 missed the Earth and may allow for better modelling and forecasting of
disruptive
solar
storms
in
future.
CMEs where a mass of the order of 1012 (a trillion) kilogrammes is ejected from the Sun, can
lead to massive disturbances on Earth, including power blackouts and satellite failures. Policy
makers have increasingly recognised them as a serious natural hazard and producing reliable
real-time predictions of their effects is therefore essential. Although the disturbances on Earth
are often related to the CME’s source position on the Sun’s surface, a model that can produce
reliable
space
weather
forecasts
remains
unavailable.
Christian Möstl and colleagues collected data from 7 different space missions on a CME
event dated 7th January 2014. The event resulted in a very fast CME, which erupted from an
active solar region facing the Earth. For this reason strong negative effects were forecast;
however, the worst of the storm missed the Earth and no geomagnetic disturbances followed.
The authors used the data from the missions to model the CME’s evolution from the Sun, up
to the Earth, and as far as Mars where it was detected by the Curiosity rover. From their
model, the authors can now report that the CME was channelled in a longitudinal direction by
the Sun’s magnetic fields. Further space missions will provide increasing understanding of
solar storms propagations, providing the chance for increasingly reliable space weather
forecasts — essential to gauge the impact of these massive events on planets and spacecraft.
Article and author details

Strong coronal channeling and interplanetary evolution of a solar storm
up to Earth and Mars
Corresponding Author
Christian Möstl
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
Email: christian.moestl@oeaw.ac.at, Tel: +43 316 4120 519
DOI
10.1038/ncomms8135
Online paper*
http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncomms8135