Abstract Details


Name: Utkarsh Sharma
Affiliation: CESSI, IISER Kolkata
Conference ID: TVS202510238
Title: The Historic Geomagnetic Storm of May 2024: Origin and Space Weather Consequences
Authors and Co-Authors: Suvadip Sinha, Souvik Roy, Utkarsh Sharma, Dibyendu Nandi
Abstract Type: Contributory Presentation
Abstract: On May 10-11, 2024, Earth experienced its most powerful geomagnetic storm in nearly two decades, impacting satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as well as ground-based infrastructure. Historical space weather data suggest that such a phenomenon occurs approximately once per decade. Our analysis indicates that the "Mother's Day storm" was the result of the interaction between multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as they approached Earth, thereby reinforcing the idea that such interplanetary interactions may precipitate such extreme events. Magnetohydrodynamic simulations demonstrate that the storm initiated intense currents and energy dissipation within the magnetosphere, and satellites experienced orbital decay. Simulating orbital decay over the range of altitudes from 200 km to 800 km, we establish that satellites from lower orbits have considerably higher exposure during times of elevated space weather. This emphasizes the significant role of modeling studies in evaluating the technological impacts of extreme space weather events.