Plot showing measurements of solar energetic protons at 07:30 UT on 11 September 2017.
Measurements of solar energetic protons at 07:30 UT on 11 September 2017. The data from the new instruments on GOES-R is shown in red, while the other lines show data from the older NOAA GOES weather satellites. The data are well cross-calibrated, and the new instruments provide both improved energy coverage and a higher fidelity measurement enabling new science and improving space weather monitoring. Credit: Kress et al. [2021], Figure 6
Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: Space Weather

Solar energetic particle events, where energetic protons erupting from the Sun reach near-Earth space, are a hazard for both satellites and astronauts. NOAA’s newest series of weather satellites has updated space weather sensors to provide improved monitoring of this hazard. A series of solar energetic particle events in September 2017 provided an opportunity to cross-compare the measurements with instruments from previous generations. Kress et al. [2021] introduce the new data set, showcase the improved capabilities for operations and scientific discovery, and enable exceptionally long baseline measurements for understanding long term trends in solar eruptions.

Citation: Kress, B. T., Rodriguez, J. V., Boudouridis, A., Onsager, T. G., Dichter, B. K., Galica, G. E., & Tsui, S. [2021]. Observations from NOAA’s newest solar proton sensor. Space Weather, 19, e2021SW002750. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021SW002750

—Steven K. Morley, Editor, Space Weather

Text © 2022. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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