Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to predict powerful radiation outbreaks, such as solar storms, up to 96 hours before they occur, according to Israeli researchers. Yuval Reuveni of Ariel University's department of physics and the Samaria and Jordan Rift R&D Center and computer science doctoral candidate Vlad Landa at the university say they have developed a new solar storm forecasting method, dubbed the Convolutional Neural Network. As described in their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the Ariel University researchers combined knowledge of past radiation bursts with X-ray measurements from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites belonging to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The researchers explain that "extracting an accurate and reliable solar flare forecast while considering multiple ranges of time windows is essential for decision-makers when protective measures are taken in critical mission situations." Harmful radiation solar storms can have a significant impact on Earth as they cause disturbances in atmospheric layers through which communication and global positioning system (GPS) signals pass.

Israeli space weather researchers report that they used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict powerful radiation outbreaks up to 96 hours before they occurred. Harmful radiation from these eruptions – also known as solar storms -- can have a significant impact on our lives here on Earth. They produce disturbances in atmospheric layers through which communication and GPS signals pass. That leads to disruption of satellite activity, navigation systems, communications and electric grids. Intense radiation bursts also can result in dangerous and costly spacecraft failures.