- The unusually powerful solar storm is expected to arrive around noon on Friday.
The feds are predicting an extraordinarily powerful solar storm in outer space on Friday, which could affect millions of Americans.
The “unusual event,” as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put it in an emergency bulletin Thursday, would be the first in nearly 20 years if it comes to fruition.
It follows a series of solar flares that began on Wednesday, during which several large ejections of plasma were detected from the Sun’s corona, the outermost part of its atmosphere.
That paved the way for Friday’s alert, where officials He said the ejections of matter and magnetic field could cause geomagnetic storms and problems for Earthlings.
Such storms could cause electronic devices like GPS and parts of power grids to malfunction, they warned, citing how they can cover a large portion of the country in a spectacular circle of light stretching from California to Alabama.
A solar or geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere (the area around Earth controlled by the planet’s magnetic field) often caused by CMEs. Pictured is a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite on June 17, 2015.
The emergency alert said: “NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a division of the National Weather Service, is monitoring the sun following a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that began on May 8.”
“NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a division of the National Weather Service, is monitoring the sun after a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that began on May 8,” it said. the emergency alert.
‘Space meteorologists have issued a severe geomagnetic storm warning (G4) for Friday afternoon.
“New solar flares could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist over the weekend,” he continued, before describing the abnormal activity that alerted space specialists.
“A large sunspot cluster has produced several moderate to strong solar flares since Wednesday at 5:00 a.m. ET,” it said.
«At least five flares were associated with CMEs that appear to be aimed at Earth. SWPC forecasters will monitor NOAA and NASA space assets for the onset of a geomagnetic storm.
The agency went on to define CMEs: explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the solar corona.
They warned that when they head towards Earth, they cause geomagnetic storms, as happened early on Friday.
Solar flares can damage satellites and have a huge financial cost. Charged particles can also threaten airlines by altering the Earth’s magnetic field.
“Additional solar flares could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist into the weekend,” officials said, before describing the abnormal activity that alerted space specialists.
“Geomagnetic storms can affect infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on the Earth’s surface,” the statement continued, explaining how the storm could “potentially [disrupt] communications, electrical network, navigation, radio and satellite operations.’
It could also “kill the Internet” for some, scientists further warned, as NOAA increased its geomagnetic storm watch from moderate to severe from Friday to Sunday night.
“SWPC has notified the operators of these systems so they can take protective measures,” officials wrote in administering the action.
“Geomagnetic storms can also trigger spectacular auroral displays on Earth,” they added of some of the storm’s most picturesque possible side effects.
“A severe geomagnetic storm includes the possibility of auroras being seen as far south as Alabama and northern California.”
The aurora, a spectacle of natural light in the Earth’s sky, would be somewhat reminiscent of the recognizable northern lights.
A solar or geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere, the area around Earth controlled by the planet’s magnetic field.
“A severe geomagnetic storm includes the possibility of auroras being seen as far south as Alabama and northern California,” officials wrote Thursday. The aurora, a natural light show in Earth’s sky, would be somewhat reminiscent of the recognizable northern lights.
As mentioned in the alert, it is caused by CME: Friday’s storm was classified as ‘G4’ (on a scale of one to five), a mark that constitutes a ‘severe’ storm.
More to continue…