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The Thermosphere Is a Drag: The 2022 Starlink Incident and the Threat of Geomagnetic Storms to Low Earth Orbit Space Operations
Berger, T. E.; Dominique, M.; Thiemann, E. +6 more
On 03 February 2022, SpaceX launched 49 Starlink satellites, 38 of which re-entered the atmosphere on or about 07 February 2022 due to unexpectedly high atmospheric drag. We use empirical model (NRLMSIS, JB08, and HASDM) outputs as well as solar extreme ultraviolet occultation and high-fidelity accelerometer data to show that thermospheric density…
High Energy Solar Particle Events and Their Relationship to Associated Flare, CME and GLE Parameters
Vainio, R.; Dalla, S.; Raukunen, O. +3 more
Large solar eruptive events, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can lead to solar energetic particle (SEP) events. During these events, protons are accelerated up to several GeV and pose numerous space weather risks. These risks include, but are not limited to, radiation hazards to astronauts and disruption to satellites and…
Neural Networks for Operational SYM-H Forecasting Using Attention and SWICS Plasma Features
Muñoz, Pablo; Cid, Consuelo; Collado-Villaverde, Armando
In this work, we present an Artificial Neural Network for operational forecasting of the SYM-H geomagnetic index up to 2 hr ahead using the Interplanetary Magnetic Field, the solar wind plasma features and previous SYM-H values. Former works that forecast the SYM-H index use data measured by ACE, in particular from the MAG and SWEPAM instruments. …
Detection and Characterization of a Coronal Mass Ejection Using Interplanetary Scintillation Measurements From the Murchison Widefield Array
Morgan, J.; Ekers, R.; McCauley, P. I. +2 more
We have shown previously that the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), can detect 100s of Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) sources simultaneously across a field of view (FoV) ∼30° in extent. To test if we can use this capability to track heliospheric structures, we undertook a search of 88 hr of MWA IPS data, and identified an observation likely to …
Radio Absorption in the Nightside Ionosphere of Mars During Solar Energetic Particle Events
Lester, M.; Leblanc, F.; Sánchez-Cano, B. +3 more
Characterization, understanding, and prediction of the Martian radio environment are of increasing importance to the forthcoming human exploration of Mars. Here we investigate 3-5 MHz radio absorption in the nightside ionosphere of Mars caused by enhanced ionization at <100 km altitudes during solar energetic particle (SEP) events. We conduct a…
Upstream Solar Wind Prediction up to Mars by an Operational Solar Wind Prediction System
Luo, Bingxian; Zhong, Qiuzhen; Liu, Siqing +10 more
Combining the upstream solar wind observations measured by Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), Advanced Composition Explorer(ACE) and Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) from October 2014 to April 2021, we investigate the statistical properties of the background solar wind at Mars and Earth. By applying an operational solar wind pr…
Solar Energetic Particle Events Detected in the Housekeeping Data of the European Space Agency's Spacecraft Flotilla in the Solar System
Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Wood, Simon; Wilson, Colin +37 more
Despite the growing importance of planetary Space Weather forecasting and radiation protection for science and robotic exploration and the need for accurate Space Weather monitoring and predictions, only a limited number of spacecraft have dedicated instrumentation for this purpose. However, every spacecraft (planetary or astronomical) has hundred…
Prediction of Proton Pressure in the Outer Part of the Inner Magnetosphere Using Machine Learning
Mouikis, C. G.; Kronberg, E. A.; Li, S. Y. +3 more
The information on plasma pressure in the outer part of the inner magnetosphere is important for simulations of the inner magnetosphere and a better understanding of its dynamics. Based on 17-year observations from both Cluster Ion Spectrometry and Research with Adaptive Particle Imaging Detector instruments onboard the Cluster mission, we used ma…
Partially Erupted Prominence Material as a Diagnostic of Coronal Mass Ejection Trajectory
Thompson, B. J.; Mason, E. I.; Hovis-Afflerbach, B. A.
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are energetic releases of large-scale magnetic structures from the Sun. CMEs can have impacts on spacecraft and at Earth. This trajectory is typically assumed to be radial, but often the CME moves outward with some spatial offset from the source region where the eruption initially occurred. A CME is frequently accompa…
A Surrogate Model for Studying Solar Energetic Particle Transport and the Seed Population
Schwadron, Nathan A.; Baydin, Atilim Guneş; Poduval, Bala
The high energy particles originating from the Sun, known as solar energetic particles (SEPs), contribute significantly to the space radiation environment, posing serious threats to astronauts and scientific instruments on board spacecraft. The mechanism that accelerates the SEPs to the observed energy ranges, their transport in the inner heliosph…