Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction

Solar flares, driven by magnetic reconnection on the Sun, pose substantial threats to Earth’s technological infrastructure. Accurate forecasting of flare activity, quantified by the Solar Flare Index (SFI), is crucial for mitigating space weather risks. This study leveraged an optimized long short-t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mu He, Hongbing Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Advances in Astronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/7366830
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850211325594042368
author Mu He
Hongbing Zhu
author_facet Mu He
Hongbing Zhu
author_sort Mu He
collection DOAJ
description Solar flares, driven by magnetic reconnection on the Sun, pose substantial threats to Earth’s technological infrastructure. Accurate forecasting of flare activity, quantified by the Solar Flare Index (SFI), is crucial for mitigating space weather risks. This study leveraged an optimized long short-term memory (LSTM+) neural network, to achieve robust long-term SFI predictions. The LSTM + model incorporated a novel reprediction procedure and fine-tuned parameter optimization, demonstrating high accuracy in hindcasting SFI for Solar Cycles 23 and 24. The validated model predicted a peak SFI for Solar Cycle 25 in January 2025, aligning with historical trends of SFI lagging behind sunspot number maxima. This projection, along with the recent resurgence in sunspot activity, suggests a potential second, higher SFI peak may occur. Incorporating inherent model uncertainties, the maximum SFI for Solar Cycle 25 was estimated to occur between December 2023 and February 2026. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of solar flare dynamics and provide valuable insights for space weather prediction, enabling proactive measures to protect critical technological systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-eb8c855719ed4ac886a5d5b6aeb423cd
institution OA Journals
issn 1687-7977
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Advances in Astronomy
spelling doaj-art-eb8c855719ed4ac886a5d5b6aeb423cd2025-08-20T02:09:34ZengWileyAdvances in Astronomy1687-79772025-01-01202510.1155/aa/7366830Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather PredictionMu He0Hongbing Zhu1College of Artificial IntelligenceAvant-Courier LaboratorySolar flares, driven by magnetic reconnection on the Sun, pose substantial threats to Earth’s technological infrastructure. Accurate forecasting of flare activity, quantified by the Solar Flare Index (SFI), is crucial for mitigating space weather risks. This study leveraged an optimized long short-term memory (LSTM+) neural network, to achieve robust long-term SFI predictions. The LSTM + model incorporated a novel reprediction procedure and fine-tuned parameter optimization, demonstrating high accuracy in hindcasting SFI for Solar Cycles 23 and 24. The validated model predicted a peak SFI for Solar Cycle 25 in January 2025, aligning with historical trends of SFI lagging behind sunspot number maxima. This projection, along with the recent resurgence in sunspot activity, suggests a potential second, higher SFI peak may occur. Incorporating inherent model uncertainties, the maximum SFI for Solar Cycle 25 was estimated to occur between December 2023 and February 2026. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of solar flare dynamics and provide valuable insights for space weather prediction, enabling proactive measures to protect critical technological systems.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/7366830
spellingShingle Mu He
Hongbing Zhu
Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
Advances in Astronomy
title Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
title_full Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
title_fullStr Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
title_full_unstemmed Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
title_short Forecasting the Timing of Peak Solar Flare Index in Solar Cycle 25 for Improved Space Weather Prediction
title_sort forecasting the timing of peak solar flare index in solar cycle 25 for improved space weather prediction
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/aa/7366830
work_keys_str_mv AT muhe forecastingthetimingofpeaksolarflareindexinsolarcycle25forimprovedspaceweatherprediction
AT hongbingzhu forecastingthetimingofpeaksolarflareindexinsolarcycle25forimprovedspaceweatherprediction