Astronaut Thomas Pesquet photographed the effects of a solar flare. The European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut has been on the International Space Station for a while. However, a 4-man crew recently returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The crew included NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet. The crew landed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pesquet captured the solar flare
The astronauts who said goodbye to the International Space Station witnessed spectacular moments of aurora (auroral lights). The phenomenon that produces these images is due to a massive burst of material from the Sun reaching our planet.
space. According to com, this phenomenon, called coronal mass ejection (CME), also took place the day after November 1 and 2. This CME in the sunspot AR2891 was considerably larger than the first two. Therefore, its impact on Earth was also greater.
(Photo: ESA/Pesquet)
The sun is waking up for new activities after years of silence. It’s actually part of the Sun’s 11-year cycle. The crew that returned to Earth with Spacex’s spacecraft also witnessed these magnificent moments. Space really offers a great opportunity for observing and viewing such phenomena.
A photo shared by the European Space Agency’s astronaut Thomas Pesquet received thousands of likes. Pesquet tweeted the fascinating Earth image with a greenish glow. He shared, “We witnessed the strongest aurora during our tenure over North America and Canada. ” he noted.
https://twitter. com/Thom_astro/status/1457104662683955202
Meanwhile, astronauts already catch solar flares quite often. Especially Pesquet comes up frequently with the photos he shares. The astronaut, who reached the orbiting base with SpaceX Crew-2 in April, shared many similar images on his Flickr account.
However, this fascinating phenomenon also has negative effects on Earth. Along with a bright display, magnetic storms sometimes damage satellites. Electricity networks are also damaged. The geomagnetic storm with the worst consequences so far is the Carrington Event of 1859. Because it disabled telegraph networks in all of Europe and North America.
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