Overview of the Findings from the May 2024 Solar & Geospace Superstorm Workshop

The May 2024 storm resulted from an extraordinary sequence of events. From 8-15 May, the Sun exhibited an unusually high activity level, with active region NOAA AR 3664 producing multiple X-class flares and halo CMEs. This led to a powerful geomagnetic storm, surpassing any observed since 20 November 2003, making it the Space Age's third-strongest solar and geospace storm. The storm produced stunning aurorae at unusually low latitudes, enchanting the world with its vibrant display. This historic storm was the first of this magnitude when a wealth of observations from space and ground-based assets exists, along with advanced models, making it a significant milestone in our scientific exploration.

The interplanetary magnetic field soared to a magnitude of 73 nT, with the Bz component reaching an impressive depth of -50 nT for an extended period. This remarkable geomagnetic storm was classified as a G5-class storm (Kp = 9), standing as an unprecedented event since the Halloween solar storms of 2003. It was accompanied by solar radiation storms ranging from S1 to S2 and radio blackouts of up to R3 levels. The resulting Dst index reached -412 nT on 11 May.

The May 2024 Solar & Geospace Superstorm Workshop is specifically designed to concentrate on the high level of solar activity from 8-15 May 2024, the underlying physical processes, their impact on the geospace environment, and the effects on society. The Workshop's primary objective is to unite experts in solar, magnetospheric, ionospheric, and atmospheric physics to collectively comprehend the full implications of this superstorm, including multi-mission observations, theory, and numerical simulations. Understanding this amazing event is inherently cross-disciplinary. Analyzing these events opens up extensive avenues for expanding our knowledge of how the Sun-Earth and other planetary systems operate. Many aspects of this multifaceted problem necessitate thorough investigation by the entire community.

We will provide an overview of the findings and results discussed during the weeklong Workshop to be held at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory from 28 October to 1 November 2024 (https://space-events.jhuapl.edu/superstorm-workshop-2024/).