"Severe Solar Storm Triggers Northern Lights and Lunar Eclipse"

NOAA's GOES satellites detected a severe solar storm on March 23–24, 2024, including a powerful X-class solar flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) that triggered a G4-class geomagnetic storm, the most potent since 2017. Geomagnetic storms can disrupt power grids, radio signals, communications systems, and affect satellite operations and GPS navigation. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued alerts and warnings, and the agency's satellites monitor solar activity to provide forecasts and predictions. The upcoming Solar Cycle 25 is expected to peak between January and October of 2024, with increased solar activity, and NOAA's newest satellite, GOES-U, will carry a new instrument to study the solar corona.