Solar storm forecast to hit Earth on WEDNESDAY: ‘Hole’ in sun boosts solar winds that could weaken power grids and bring stunning auroras to northern regions
- A coronal hole on the face of the sun amplifies the solar winds that are directed toward Earth
- This prompted a warning for a small G1 geomagnetic storm to hit Earth on Wednesday
- It is the weakest storm on a scale of five and may only weaken power grid fluctuations or slightly affect satellites
By Stacey Liberatore for Dailymail.com
Posted: 22:46, August 1, 2022 | Updated: 02:26, August 2, 2022
Earth is under a solar storm warning for August 3 as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announces that there is a chance of a small G1 class geomagnetic storm hitting our planet.
A G-1 storm could weaken power grid fluctuations, affect satellites and potentially trigger auroras in areas around the North Pole — in which case electric colors would be seen in the skies over Canada and Alaska. However, it is the weakest of the five classified by NOAA.
The geomagnetic storm was caused by a coronal hole in the southwestern part of the sun’s face that ejected “gaseous material.”
Mike Cook, who works in space weather operations, told DailyMail.com that the hole increased the speed of the solar wind by kicking the solar winds into a stream. He also notes that it’s forecast to cause G-1 conditions, but we’ll have to “see if that plays out over the next 24 to 48 hours.”
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The geomagnetic storm is due to a coronal hole (pictured) on the southwest side of the sun’s face that is ejecting “gaseous material”
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center classifies geologic storms into five stages—one being the weakest and five being the strongest.
And the one set for this week will have very little impact on satellites and technology on Earth. However, it can confuse migrating animals that use the Earth’s magnetic field as a navigational tool.
This is because geomagnetic storms cause electrical currents in the magnetosphere and ionosphere as the region formed by the Earth’s magnetic field is compressed and disturbed.
There was also a C9.3 flare fired from the sun on Sunday. Class C eruptions are small with little noticeable consequences on Earth, but they are exciting to watch.
There was also a C9.3 flare fired from the sun on Sunday. Class C eruptions are small with little noticeable consequences on Earth, but they are exciting to watch. The light looks like a broken circle exploding from the sun
This one didn’t explode on the Earth-facing side of the sun, however, but it did explode enough to be picked up by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, an instrument that has been studying our massive star since launch in 2010.
The torch was caught late on July 31st. This graphic shows that the flare was then picked up by satellites
It takes 169,090 hours to reach the sun if you are traveling at approximately 550 miles per hour.
“The C9.3 eruption yesterday was from a region that technically isn’t even in the Earth-facing disk yet, it’s just about NE [north eastern] limb,” Cook told Dailymail.com.
“And solar flares themselves don’t cause a geomagnetic storm, that’s only if a CME (coronal mass ejection) is associated with the flare AND directed toward Earth.
The serpentine filaments are CMEs, which are large ejections of plasma and magnetic field from the solar corona, the outermost layer of the star’s atmosphere.
Earth experienced a solar storm on July 19 that brought stunning auroras to the northern parts of the US and Canada. Pictured is an image of the aurora borealis over Seattle, Washington
Earth experienced a solar storm on July 19 that brought stunning auroras to the northern parts of the US and Canada.
The storm made headlines over the weekend when Dr Tamita Skov announced she had spotted a “snake-like filament” on the sun’s surface on Friday – and it was moving towards Earth’s impact zone.
The auroras were seen earlier on Friday morning just as the storm hit, filling the northern sky with stunning electric shades of purple and green.
Cook DailyMail.com on July 19: “There are several CMEs [coronal mass ejections] flares in the last few days (solar storms), but there is also a coronal hole (black hole-like structures) which is the central disk.’
“We should see an impact from this in the next 2-3 days.”
And that’s right, the space show isn’t over—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) indicates that a G1-class is expected to impact our planet as early as Thursday and late Friday.
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