Earth is set to take a direct hit from a solar storm today, Wednesday, August 3. The storm is said to be created through a coronal mass ejection that occurs in the Sun’s atmosphere, causing high-speed solar winds to make their way to Earth. The solar storm forecast was made by meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). According to spaceweather.com, meteorologists observed “gaseous material flowing from a southern hole in the sun’s atmosphere.” High-speed solar winds interact with Earth’s electromagnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms to form. According to NASA, a geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a strong exchange of energy from the solar wind to space above Earth. However, the solar storm that will hit Earth is expected to be a G-1 category solar storm, which is the lowest in intensity and causes much less damage. According to the K index, which measures the magnetic field around the Earth, solar storms are divided into 5 categories from G-1 to G-5. G-1 has the lowest impact and G5 is given to the most severe solar storms. When a solar storm hits Earth’s magnetic field, the resulting geomagnetic storm can kill radio communications and disrupt the power grid. It can cause power and radio outages for several hours or even days. However, problems with the power grid only arise if the solar flare is extremely strong. On the other hand, solar storms cause an extremely beautiful night sky phenomenon known as Aurora or Northern Lights, which attracts astronomers, sky watchers and others with amazing color streaks in the night sky. The frequency of solar flares is expected to increase in the coming years as the Sun reaches the peak of its solar cycle, likely around 2025.
title: “Solar Storm Warning A Storm Is Expected To Hit Earth Today August 3 " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Randy Pocius”
Earth is set to take a direct hit from a solar storm today, Wednesday, August 3. The storm is said to be created through a coronal mass ejection that occurs in the Sun’s atmosphere, causing high-speed solar winds to make their way to Earth. The solar storm forecast was made by meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). According to spaceweather.com, meteorologists observed “gaseous material flowing from a southern hole in the sun’s atmosphere.” High-speed solar winds interact with Earth’s electromagnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms to form. According to NASA, a geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a strong exchange of energy from the solar wind to space above Earth. However, the solar storm that will hit Earth is expected to be a G-1 category solar storm, which is the lowest in intensity and causes much less damage. According to the K index, which measures the magnetic field around the Earth, solar storms are divided into 5 categories from G-1 to G-5. G-1 has the lowest impact and G5 is given to the most severe solar storms. When a solar storm hits Earth’s magnetic field, the resulting geomagnetic storm can kill radio communications and disrupt the power grid. It can cause power and radio outages for several hours or even days. However, problems with the power grid only arise if the solar flare is extremely strong. On the other hand, solar storms cause an extremely beautiful night sky phenomenon known as Aurora or Northern Lights, which attracts astronomers, sky watchers and others with amazing color streaks in the night sky. The frequency of solar flares is expected to increase in the coming years as the Sun reaches the peak of its solar cycle, likely around 2025.