Bird-Wing Solar Event | 26 May 2025

Source: HT

NASA has observed a massive solar eruption, named as the “Bird-Wing” event due to its bird wing-like plasma structure. Though it raised concerns of a severe geomagnetic storm, Earth escaped a direct hit, experiencing only minimal impact. 

Bird-Wing Solar Event 

• Origin: The eruption originated from the Sun’s northern hemisphere, with its plasma (eruption) structure extending over one million kilometres, i.e. more than twice the Earth-Moon distance. 
• Components Involved: 
  • The event involved both a Solar Flare and a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). 
    • Solar Flares are sudden, intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun’s surface caused by the snapping and realignment of magnetic field lines.  
      • They are classified from A to X based on X-ray brightness. 
      • They often occur alongside CMEs and travel at the speed of light and can reach Earth in about 8 minutes. 
    • Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is an explosive ejection of charged solar plasma into space, travelling at speeds of 250 to 3000 km/s (slower than solar flares) and taking 1–3 days to reach Earth. 

• Impact on Earth: 
  • Solar flares can cause geomagnetic storms that disrupt Earth’s magnetic field, leading to radio blackouts, power grid failures, and visible auroras at lower latitudes.  
  • High-energy particles may damage satellites, GPS, and communication systems.