Solar storms and flares could soon be detected in advance of communication blackouts; aurora borealis appearances

Editor's Note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Space weather has a notorious habit of wreaking havoc on Earth. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections — enormous bubbles of plasma that burst from the sun — can disrupt power grids and communication systems. NASA is taking steps to predict these events, giving us a leg up before disaster strikes.

This week, the space agency is launching the last in a series of satellites into orbit that will help monitor solar activity and weather here on Earth. The GOES-U satellite will provide "advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements" of our weather and space, according to NASA.

GOES-U is the fourth satellite in the Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellites - R Series. It will be the 19th GOES satellite. The satellite is scheduled to launch June 25th at 4:16pm (CT).

In addition to watching the sun, it will work alongside GOES-18 to observe half the Earth's weather.

Monitoring the sun's weather

GOES-U, which will be renamed GOES-19 once operational, is outfitted with a few devices for monitoring activity on the sun.

The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) will monitor solar flares, while the Compact Coronagraphy-1 (CCOR-1) will track coronal mass ejections. According to NASA, this is the first time this instrument has been deployed on a satellite.

Coronal mass ejections can have some interesting impacts on our planet. Earlier this year, they were responsible for several auroras that appeared in our atmosphere. Some of these auroras were visible in Texas, much further south than typically occurs. This was because of the intensity of these CMEs.

CMEs release massive amounts of electromagnetic energy. This energy can disrupt radio waves around the Earth and strong CMEs can even result in a radio blackout worldwide.

Earth's weather gets new eyes

Beyond solar observation, GOES-U will significantly enhance our ability to monitor Earth's weather. It will work alongside GOES-18 to cover a substantial portion of the planet's atmospheric activities. The satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) will provide critical data on hurricanes, natural hazards and ocean conditions.

Also, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), the first of its kind in geostationary orbit, will detect severe storms as they develop by tracking increases in lightning activity.

Meteorologists will also benefit from GOES-U's capabilities in monitoring atmospheric rivers, which can lead to catastrophic flooding on the West Coast, as well as smoke and dust levels, air quality, volcanic eruptions and heavy rainfall.

In space, the satellite will aid in tracking meteors and radiation hazards.