The geomagnetic superstorm of 10 May 2024: Citizen science observations

Abstract. The 10 May 2024 geomagnetic storm was one of the most extreme to have occurred in over 20 years. In the era of smartphones and social media, millions of people from all around the world were alerted to the possibility of exceptional auroral displays. Hence, many people not only witnessed but also photographed the aurora during this event. These observations, although not from traditional scientific instruments, can prove invaluable in obtaining data to characterise this extraordinary event. In particular, many observers saw and photographed the aurora at mid-latitudes, where ground-based instruments targeting auroral studies are sparse or absent. Moreover, the proximity of the event to the northern hemisphere summer solstice meant that many optical instruments were not in operation due to the lack of suitably dark conditions. We created an online survey and circulated it within networks of aurora photographers to collect observations of the aurora and disruptions in technological systems that were experienced during this superstorm. We obtained 696 citizen science reports from over 30 countries, containing information such as the time and location of aurora sightings, observed colours and auroral forms, as well as geolocalisation, network, and power disruptions noticed during the geomagnetic storm. We supplemented the obtained dataset with 186 auroral observations logged in the Skywarden catalogue (https://taivaanvahti.fi) by citizen scientists. The main findings enabled by the data collected through these reports are that the aurora was widely seen from locations at geomagnetic latitudes ranging between 30° and 60°, with a few reports from even lower latitudes. This was significantly further equatorward than predicted by auroral oval models, and that the auroral electron precipitation contained large fluxes of low-energy (< 1 keV) particles. This may explain the predominantly red and pink colours of the aurora as reported by citizen scientists, intense enough to reach naked-eye visibility. This study also reveals the limitations of citizen science data collection via a rudimentary online form. We discuss possible solutions to enable more detailed and quantitative studies of extreme geomagnetic events with citizen science in the future.