The sun released two powerful streams of energetic particles this week, which have a 75 percent chance of causing radio blackouts when they hit Earth.
A physicist told DailyMail.com that solar storms will occur on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some effects being felt on Thursday, but the pair are tracking one on Monday that disrupted communications across the Pacific Ocean.
Dr. Tamitha Skov said the flare released on Sunday was “the biggest we’ve seen in weeks” and has already caused brief radio disruptions over Australia and the Asia Pacific.
“NOAA gives us a 75 percent chance of M-class outbursts (radio blackout causing outbursts) over the next three days while (two sunspots) are still within view of Earth,” Skov said.
In addition to HF (high frequency) radio warnings, GPS users are advised to remain vigilant, especially during the hours around sunrise and sunset, as GPS/GNSS (Other Global Navigation Satellite Systems) signal reception can easily deteriorate at these times on which torches are active.’
Dr. Tamitha Skov said the flare released on Sunday was “the biggest we’ve seen in weeks” and has already caused brief radio disruptions over Australia and the Asia Pacific.
The two active sunspots, 3559 and 3561, produced coronal mass ejections (CMEs) just one day apart – with the first occurring on Sunday.
CMEs can eject billions of tons of corona material from the sun’s surface. The material consists of plasma and magnetic fields.
NOAA uses a five-level system, the S scale, to indicate the severity of a solar radiation storm.
And the agency shows a 15 percent chance of such storms today through Thursday.
Data showed that the 3559 eruption had already disrupted radio communications over the South Pacific, Fiji and the northeastern coast of Australia.
“NOAA gives us a 75 percent chance of M-class eruptions in the next three days while (two sunspots) are still within view of Earth,” Dr. Tamitha Skov told DailyMail.com
SWPC shows a G1 storm warning in effect through Thursday. That’s a small storm that could weaken power grid fluctuations and affect satellite operations
The two active sunspots, 3559 and 3561 (pictured is the solar flare), released coronal mass ejections (CMEs) just one day apart
“The storm, which launched on the 21st, is expected to hit today and indeed it looks like it will also be a glancing blow (this time south of Earth),” said Skov, who hosts a space weather forecast at YouTube.
‘I say this because the neutron monitors (detectors on the ground that measure particles from space) indicate that there is a major solar storm near Earth right now.
“We may still get some lateral movement along the flank (or edge) later today, but the NASA Moon to Mars (M2M) Space Weather Analysis Office forecasts for this scenario show only active conditions, meaning we’ll see the G1 storm will not even reach levels.’
SWPC shows a G1 storm warning in effect through Thursday.
That’s a small storm that could weaken power grid fluctuations and affect satellite operations.
Skov explained that the 3559 eruption was the largest seen in weeks and had already disrupted radio communications over the South Pacific, Fiji and the northeastern coast of Australia.
Skov explained that the second solar flare of 3561 (pictured) was the “most visually stunning solar storm launch yesterday” and has an Earth-centered component.
“Draft animals are affected at this and higher levels; Aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine),” SWPC shared on its website.
Skov explained that the second solar flare from 3561 was the “most visually stunning solar storm launch yesterday” and that it has an Earth-centered component.
That region fired an M4.3 flare, which is classified as medium and causes brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions.
However, Skov noted that this resulted in some minor problems for high-frequency radio communications near the equator and South American regions.
‘Between NASA and NOAA models, the earliest forecasts have it arriving the afternoon of January 25 at 9 a.m. ET, but forecasts also indicate it could travel more slowly.
“In that case, it could happen early in the morning at 1:00 a.m. ET on January 26th.
“NOAA SWPC has established a G1 level storm watch from now through January 26.”