According to a new study, artificial intelligence (AI) could have predicted the powerful solar storm that impacted Earth in May last year, triggered by the highly active region AR13664 on the Sun.
The team of researchers at the University of Genoa, led by Sabrina Guastavino, stated that by training AI on historical solar events,it could identify patterns that precede coronal mass ejections (CMEs), reports NDTV.
This early warning system is crucial because traditional methods, which rely on human analysis of solar images and data, often provide less accurate and timely forecasts.
"Despite advances in observational capabilities and model development, so far there remains a substantial uncertainty in both flare forecasting and CME travel time predictions, with the latter averagely amounting to approximately 12 hours," the study stated.
The AI model works by processing vast amounts of data from solar imagery and other space weather parameters. It looks for subtle cues in the solar atmosphere's behaviour, such as changes in magnetic field strength, solar wind speed, and the appearance of solar flares.
"The May 2024 event also underscores the broader implications of AI-driven reverse engineering for space weather science," the study highlighted.
"The ability to predict CME travel times with such precision suggests that AI can furthermore serve as a diagnostic tool for testing and refining existing models of CME propagation," it added.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
