LOGAN – When the sun flares up, its energy interacts with the ionosphere and the atmosphere in powerful ways. When solar flares or corona mass ejections occur it is because of instability in the sun’s magnetic field, and that is when energy is released as a result.
Such events can cause problems on earth like interruptions in immediate communications or radio communications, with the added possibility that millions of our devices can be affected.
While there are currently methods of predicting when these events occur, Utah State University researchers are using AI to help make the process more efficient.
The idea is to study the past 12 hours of the sun’s activity to then predict if in the next 24 hours there might be a large flare, which might provide an early warning window.
Three times this past fall – in September, October and in November – there were solar flares classified as intense enough to affect earthly activities.
Shah Muhammad Hamdi, a professor in computer science, said current research is designed to better predict solar activity to prepare for potentially harmful conditions.