A massive solar storm could make a ‘direct hit’ with earth in the coming days.
Space weather experts say a 200,000-km long magnetic filament in the sun erupted on Tuesday, hurling part of itself into space.
The debris from the explosion could be headed towards earth, with fears it could graze the earth’s magnetic field on Saturday.
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NASA has an active warning in place, saying this could cause “weak power grid fluctuations” as well as the Aurora possibly being visible at high latitudes such as Canada and Alaska.
It comes as NASA recently issued an ominous warning that “an upswing in space weather will impact our lives and technology on Earth, as well as astronauts in space.”
December 2019 marked the beginning of Solar Cycle 25. Solar cycle 25 is the current solar cycle, the 25th since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began.
In a blog post in July, NASA warned: “Solar Cycle 25 is exceeding predictions”.
It said: “The Sun’s activity has quickly ramped up and even though we haven’t reached peak levels in this cycle, the Sun’s activity is already exceeding predictions. Solar events will continue to increase as we near solar maximum in 2025.”
Giving more details about what to expect, it added: “During the Sun’s natural 11-year cycle, the Sun shifts from relatively calm to stormy, then back again. At its most active, called solar maximum, the Sun is freckled with sunspots and its magnetic poles reverse.
“During solar minimum, on the other hand, sunspots are few and far between. Often, the Sun is as blank and featureless as an egg yolk.
“With more activity comes an increase in space weather events including solar flares and solar eruptions, which can impact radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals, as well as pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
“We have an increasing dependence on space-based technology and ground-based infrastructure that are susceptible to the dynamic nature of space. For many new commercial and government stakeholders, this already stronger-than-expected solar cycle will be the first they navigate.”
Giving examples of what impacts it could have on earth, it said:
- "Variable satellite drag due to atmospheric heating modifies spacecraft operations and orbits. This can cause satellites to reenter Earth’s atmosphere prematurely, decrease satellite lifetimes, increase the risk of orbital collisions, and cause spacecraft to be out of optimal position for their mission.
- "Radiofrequency communication and navigation capabilities are degraded. GPS positioning experiences errors due to the ionospheric disturbances (in plasma density) that occur on regional scales (a continent or larger). Space-to-surface transmission noise is increased. This affects military monitoring of the north polar region and communications globally.
- "During times of geomagnetic activity, the near-polar regions experience high fluxes of radiation in the form of energetic particles. These particles can travel to low altitudes, where they become a concern for airplane flight crew and passenger health.
- "When intense electrical currents driven by space weather flow overhead in the I-T system, they can produce enormous “mirror” currents in power lines and pipelines. These currents can damage or destroy critical infrastructure, leading to expensive power outages or maintenance and repair costs."
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