Overview
- An international team combined ESA’s Solar Orbiter with NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory to track active region NOAA 13664 nearly continuously for 94 days across three solar rotations.
- The observations followed the region from its emergence on April 16, 2024 on the Sun’s far side through its decay after July 18.
- NOAA 13664 drove the strongest geomagnetic storms since 2003 in May 2024, disrupting satellites, GPS and radio links, and digital agriculture while producing widespread auroras.
- Data show the region’s magnetic field grew increasingly complex, forming an intertwined structure before the strongest solar flare in about two decades erupted on May 20 on the far side.
- Scientists describe the record time series as a step toward better space‑weather forecasts, though precise eruption timing and size remain hard to predict, with ESA’s Vigil mission planned for 2031 to improve monitoring.