This Chinese AI system can track space hurricanes
What's the story
A team of scientists led by China has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system to detect space hurricanes. These atmospheric phenomena in Earth's upper atmosphere can disrupt satellite signals, radar, and radio communications. The new deep-learning system can automatically detect and locate these space hurricanes using ultraviolet images, a process that was previously done manually by studying satellite images.
Discovery
What are space hurricanes?
Space hurricanes are a recently discovered space weather phenomenon that looks like a huge, swirling aurora near the magnetic poles of Earth. The term is borrowed from tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and northeastern Pacific, which are similar to typhoons in the northwestern Pacific. The China-led team's research on this unique phenomenon was published in the peer-reviewed journal Space Weather.
Future use
AI system could analyze data from new satellite
The newly developed AI system could be used to analyze data from a recently launched China-Europe satellite. This could greatly improve the detection and tracking of space hurricanes, helping mitigate their potential impact on satellite signals, radar, and radio communications. The team's work marks a significant step forward in understanding these complex atmospheric phenomena and their effects on our planet.