The Mother's Day Storm of 2024 Triggered the Strongest Nighttime Radiative Emission of the SABER Era

Abstract The response of Nitric Oxide (NO) 5.3 µm infrared radiative emission to the 2024 Mother's Day storm is investigated by utilizing Sounding of Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) observations onboard the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite. Although NO emission displayed a drastic enhancement, it recorded the highest nighttime emission of the SABER era. The intensified field‐aligned currents from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE) measurements showed maximum equatorward penetration in the dusk/night sector, reaching below the magnetic latitude of 40° in both hemispheres. TIEGCM simulation demonstrated the strongest Joule heating rate, along with enhanced thermospheric density, NO, atomic oxygen, and temperature structures that sustained for more than 24 hr. The investigation reveals that the strongest nighttime NO emission can be attributed to the enhanced Joule heating rate, driven by stronger equatorial expansion of field‐aligned currents, along with an unprecedented enhancement in thermospheric temperature and composition.