Earth is being warned of a solar storm this week after the sun unleashed two powerful streams of energy-rich particles directly at our planet last weekend.
The first will impact Monday and the second Wednesday — both have a 60 percent chance of causing radio blackouts, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
Space weather experts predicted that power grid problems could occur on the dark side of the planet and at higher altitudes such as the poles, where problems could arise with aviation communications, ham radios and even satellites orbiting Earth. be disturbed.
But the event will also produce beautiful auroras as far south as Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
The first (top right) will have an impact on Monday and the second on Wednesday
Physicist Tamitha Skov warned that amateur radio and GPS users can expect disruptions on Earth’s night side.
The two active sunspots, 3559 and 3555, produced coronal mass ejections (CMEs) just one day apart.
CMEs can eject billions of tons of corona material from the Sun’s surface. The material consists of plasma and magnetic fields.
Such eruptions have the potential to cause space weather that could disrupt Earth’s satellites and power grids and harm unprotected astronauts.
Skov shared on X on January 20: ‘We have one, if not two #solarstorms heading towards Earth today! The first was launched near region 3555. It is expected to take place on January 22 in the early afternoon.
“The second is a side storm launched near 3559. It could give us a glancing blow (on) January 23.
‘In addition, there is now an unstable filament in the Earth impact zone. When it is launched, it will be a third storm heading towards Earth!’
According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), both have a 60 percent chance of causing radio blackouts.
The two active sunspots, 3559 and 3555, produced coronal mass ejections (CMEs) just one day apart. CMEs can eject billions of tons of corona material from the sun’s surface. The material consists of plasma and magnetic fields
The first CME is predicted to hit our planet no earlier than 1:00 PM ET on Monday.
SWPC also shared on the social media platform, noting that “the general public need not worry,” but will be bringing the Northern Lights to several US states this week.
However, the agency has posted an official warning on its website about a geomagnetic storm hitting Earth, which is a temporary disturbance in Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a shock wave from the solar wind.
The geomagnetic storm is predicted to be a G2 event, which is considered moderate on the SWPC scale.
During G2 storms, voltage corrections may be necessary and false alarms may activate some devices.
Satellites and spacecraft in orbit may encounter resistance that could disrupt operations.
Space weather experts predicted that power grid problems could occur on the dark side of the planet and at higher altitudes such as the poles, where problems could arise with aviation communications, ham radios and even satellites orbiting Earth. be disturbed.
SWPC also shared on the social media platform, noting that “the general public need not worry” but will be bringing the Northern Lights to several US states this week
SWPC’s warning also notes that potential impacts include impacting HF (high frequency) radios at higher latitudes.
“The radio waves (called ‘radio bursts’) affect our reception of satellite signals such as GPS and even HF radio communications,” Skov told DailyMail.com in an interview earlier this month.
‘It’s like the sun is literally screaming at us during a solar flare.
‘This ‘scream’ is much louder than our satellites can ‘chirp’ and therefore temporarily drowns out the satellite signals.
“That said, the sun doesn’t always scream at the exact frequencies that affect GPS signals.”
The warning is largely intended for frequencies used by aviation communications, government time stations, weather stations, amateur radio and citizen band services, among others.
As of Monday, sunspot 3559 is now twice the size of Earth and can be seen on the Sun’s surface without magnification.