Intense geomagnetic storms are possible in the coming days as Earth’s magnetic field is bombarded by a solar storm cloud.
Forecasters expect the worst of the solar storm to arrive around 8 p.m. EDT (00:00 GMT July 23) on Friday (July 22) and early Saturday morning (July 23). During this time, a full halo coronal mass ejectionor CME, it will come Earth’s magnetic field. The forecasts indicate it dawns they can be visible much farther from the poles than their usual latitudes.
The CME that is causing this space weather was observed on Thursday (July 21), according to a statement (opens in a new tab) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center. CMEs are bursts of charged particles that are ejected atmosphere of the sun, or crown When these particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, they can create impressive auroras, but they can also cause minor damage to power grids or disrupt spacecraft operations and satellite communications.
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Spaceweather.com reports (opens in new tab) that nearby space weather storms were caused by an explosion in the sunspot AR3060, which produced a solar flare. Images produced by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager on board the NOAA VA-16 Weather satellites show a large flare emanating just above the groundthe equator
An animation of a large solar flare emerging from the sun’s surface produced by NOAA’s Solar Ultraviolet Imager aboard the GOES-16 satellite. (Image credit: NOAA)
In North America, the storm could bring auroras as far south as Illinois or Oregon, while in the UK they could be visible as far north as Scotland. In addition, radio propagation could be affected at high latitudes, even as far south as New York and Idaho in the United States and northern areas of the United Kingdom. Even some migratory animals could be affected, due to the fact that some animals use the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation.
According to a NOAA forecast (opens in a new tab), the storm will approach G1 (Minor) and G2 (Moderate) levels.
This means that the solar storm could affect the electrical infrastructure at high latitudes and possibly even cause transformer damage if a long-lasting high-intensity storm occurs. Orbiting spacecraft may also experience drag changes and may require ground controllers to perform orientation changes.
The current storm comes as the sun’s activity continues to increase as part of a regular 11-year schedule. solar cycle. After several years of quiet sunshine, flares and CMEs are becoming more common ahead of the peak of this solar cycle, which is expected to occur in 2025.
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