Scientists have warned that a solar flare that passed through Earth this morning could cause minor geomagnetic storms that will last for days.
Coronal mass ejection (CME) gave our planet a “look” at 00:37 ET (4:37 BST) on Wednesday.
Experts predict that the effects of the CME, which could include power outages, could be felt in the next few hours.
CMEs are large clouds of energetic, highly magnetized plasma that rise from the sun.
They can be activated when a storm on the surface of the sun causes a swirl to form at the base of the plasma loops that come out of the surface.
These loops are called prominences and when they become unstable they can break, releasing the CME into space.
Today’s eruption was the result of a particularly slow solar flare recorded on Monday, which lasted eight hours and caused temporary radio outages in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Above: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of a long-lasting solar flare on June 13, 2022. It lasted eight hours and caused radio outages in Japan and Southeast Asia. Below: a view of the CME when the sun erupted as a result of the solar flare. This was recorded by the outer chronograph LASCO C3 aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The white circle in the middle indicates the position and size of the Sun.
WHAT ARE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS?
Coronal mass ejections (CME) are large clouds of energetic, highly magnetized plasma rising from the sun.
These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue in that direction, plowing through the solar wind.
These clouds only cause impacts on the Earth when they are directed at the Earth
They tend to be much slower than solar flares, as they move more matter
CMEs can be activated when a storm on the surface of the sun causes a vortex to form at the base of plasma loops projecting from the surface.
These loops are called prominences and when they become unstable they can break, releasing the CME into space.
SpaceWeather.com astronomers recorded the explosion of the growing sunspot AR3032 on Monday at 00:07 ET (04:07 BST).
The blast produced a solar flare that lasted nearly eight hours from start to finish, and was recorded as M3.4, placing it in the “middle” class of solar flare.
Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the explosion ionized the upper part of our atmosphere, causing temporary radio outages in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Coronographs aboard the Solar and Heliosphere Observatory (SOHO) also recorded a CME launched into space by this early-morning solar flare.
Analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that today it could strike a “blow to our planet’s magnetosphere.”
Spaceweather.com has since confirmed that the CME hit the Earth’s magnetic field at 00:37 ET (04:37 BST) on June 15.
An update instead said, “Storms may occur in the next few hours as the Earth moves toward the dense, magnetized flank of the CME.”
According to MetOffice, there are likely to be minor G1 class storms, with chances of moderate G2 early this morning.
Geomagnetic activity is expected to decline later in the day, but the arrival of a high-speed solar wind stream early in the morning could increase activity to storm levels G1.
A minor storm can confuse migratory animals that depend on the Earth’s magnetic field for a sense of direction.
Moderate storms can cause voltage fluctuations and can even cause power outages or damage to electrical appliances and wiring.
Satellites and other spacecraft are also at high risk for damage due to high levels of radiation.
MetOffice also said that the auroras that occur as a result of the CME would probably be limited to higher latitudes and would have arrived in Scotland early this morning.
However, the short hours of darkness meant that dawn sightings would be limited, if not impossible.
Scientists have warned that a solar flare from the sun can give the Earth a “look” and cause minor geomagnetic storms. Pictured is an image taken by the Solar Orbiter
The sun has been experiencing intense activity for a few months and last month triggered its most powerful solar flare seen in five years.
Our star appears to be entering a particularly active period of its 11-year business cycle, which began in 2019 and is expected to peak in 2025.
But scientists are concerned that increased solar activity could lead to a potentially dangerous solar climate that could damage power grids, eliminate satellites and damage astronauts and space equipment on the International Space Station.
CMEs only affect the Earth when they are directed in the direction of our planet and are usually much slower than solar flares, as they move more matter.
Flares and CMEs also have different effects on Earth.
The energy of a flare can alter the area of the atmosphere through which radio waves travel, which can cause temporary blackouts in navigation and communications signals.
On the other hand, CMEs have the power to drive the Earth’s magnetic fields, creating currents that lead particles to the Earth’s poles.
When they react with oxygen and nitrogen, they help create the aurora, also known as boreal and austral light.
In addition, magnetic changes can affect a variety of human technologies, causing GPS coordinates to deviate a few meters and overloading power grids when power companies are unprepared.
There has been no CME or extreme solar flare in the modern world (the last was the Carrington event in 1859) that created a geomagnetic storm with an aurora appearing all over the world, as well as fires at the stations of telegraph.
SOLAR STORMS ARE A CLEAR DANGER FOR ASTRONAUTS AND MAY DAMAGE SATELLITES
Solar storms, or solar activity, can be divided into four main components that can impact the Earth:
- Solar flares: a large explosion in the atmosphere of the sun. These flares are made of photons that travel directly from the place of the flare. Solar flares affect the Earth only when they occur next to the sun facing the Earth.
- Coronal mass ejections (CME): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic field rising from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue in that direction, plowing through the solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts on the Earth when they are directed at the Earth.
- High-speed solar wind currents: They come from the coronal holes of the sun, which form anywhere in the sun and usually only when they are closer to the solar equator the winds impact the Earth.
- Solar Energy Particles: High energy charged particles that are believed to be released primarily by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud passes through the solar wind, solar energy particles can be produced and, as they are charged, follow the lines of the magnetic field between the Sun and the Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that cut through the Earth will be impacted.
While they may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger of these phenomena due to the relatively low orbit of manned missions.
However, they should be concerned about the exposure accumulated during space walks.
This photo shows the coronal holes of the sun in an X-ray image. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release bubbles or tongues. of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections.
Damage caused by solar storms
Solar flares can damage satellites and have a huge economic cost.
Charged particles can also threaten airlines by disrupting the Earth’s magnetic field.
Very large flares can even create currents inside the mains and eliminate power supplies.
When coronal mass ejections impact the Earth they cause geomagnetic storms and improved aurora.
They can interrupt radio waves, GPS coordinates, and overload electrical systems.
A large influx of energy could flow into the high-voltage power grids and permanently damage the transformers.
This could shut down businesses and homes around the world.
Source: NASA – Solar storm and space meteorology