IBM and NASA scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict the sun’s ferocious outbursts more accurately than ever, giving us a chance to react to dangerous and disruptive solar activity.
The new AI model, known as “Surya” (Sanskrit for the sun), absorbs the raw images that are captured by the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) satellite — which has been staring directly into the sun for the last 15 years — and processes them quicker than any humans can.
Using this raw data, which IBM representatives said in a statement researchers have barely scratched the surface of, the foundational model can predict violent outbursts before they happen.
That way, we can protect astronauts and equipment in space, and even plan for disruption to power grids and communications systems on Earth.
“We’ve been on this journey of pushing the limits of technology with NASA since 2023, delivering pioneering foundational AI models to gain an unprecedented understanding of our planet Earth,” Juan Bernabé-Moreno, the director of IBM Research Europe for the U.K. and Ireland who is in charge of scientific collaboration with NASA, said in the statement.
“With Surya we have created the first foundation model to look the sun in the eye and forecast its moods.”
Solar activity has a growing impact on our lives the further we venture into space, and the more we rely on technology on Earth.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can knock out satellites, disrupt airline navigation, trigger power blackouts and pose a radiation risk to astronauts, making accurate solar weather prediction increasingly important.
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Forecasting storms on Earth is notoriously difficult, the scientists said, and predicting solar storms is even tougher. When solar flares erupt through the sun’s magnetic field, it takes eight minutes for that light to reach our eyes — this lag (the eight minutes in which we have no visibility over what has happened) means that scientists need to be even further ahead.
The Soraya AI model is comparable to the separate “Prithvi” family of AI models. These models process gigantic volumes of satellite data to create a more accurate representation of Earth in order to better predict its climate and weather, alongside completing other…
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