The US government has issued its first severe geomagnetic storm watch in nearly 20 years, alerting the public to the potential impact of at least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections and sunspots. This advisory comes as scientists predict that these solar activities could reach Earth as early as Friday and persist through the weekend.
A severe geomagnetic storm, classified as G4, is considered the second-highest grade in the US government's system for categorizing such events. The Space Weather Prediction Center has been closely monitoring a series of strong flares emanating from a large cluster of sunspots on the solar surface since Wednesday. This cluster, which is 16 times the diameter of Earth, is the source of the impending solar radiation that is expected to interact with Earth's magnetic field starting Friday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has highlighted that the five coronal mass ejections, which are essentially large clouds of ionized gas known as plasma, are magnetic fields that have been ejected from the sun's outer atmosphere towards Earth. Due to the magnetic fields carried by these coronal mass ejections, there is a risk of overwhelming power lines and inducing electrical currents on Earth.
Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist at the Space Weather Prediction Center, emphasized the potential impact of these solar activities on Earth's infrastructure. The center continues to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as necessary to ensure public safety and preparedness.
