Extreme Space Weather Events Measured by GOES, 1974 - 2013

The GOES satellite mission has monitored the space environment from geostationary orbit since the launch of SMS-1 in 1974. The archive includes data from the X-ray Sensor, Energetic Particle Sensor and Magnetometer. These instruments remained relatively consistent from satellite to satellite making it possible to compare events separated by many years. This poster displays GOES Space Environment Monitor data for 12 extreme events beginning with the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1989 that knocked out power for 6 million people in the US. These data are supplemented by Galactic Cosmic Ray data measured by ground based neutron monitors. The extreme event of August 1972 preceded the GOES mission; however, Cosmic Ray data are used to provide a comparison between that event and those from the GOES era.