The solar storm is expected to reach Earth today. Here’s more about the August 3rd solar storm.
Earth is set to take a direct hit from a solar storm today, which is Wednesday, August 3. The storm is said to be generated through a coronal mass ejection that occurs in the Sun’s atmosphere, causing high-speed solar winds to open up. on earth.
The solar storm prediction was made by meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). According to spaceweather.com, meteorologists observed “gaseous material flowing from a hole in the sun’s southern atmosphere.”
High-speed solar winds interact with the Earth’s electromagnetic field and cause the formation of geomagnetic storms. According to NASA, a geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a strong exchange of energy from the solar wind into space above Earth.
However, the solar storm that will hit Earth is expected to be a G-1 class solar storm, which is the lowest in intensity and causes much less damage. According to the K index, which measures the magnetic field around the Earth, solar storms are divided into 5 classes from G-1 to G-5. G-1 is the lowest impact and G5 is given to the most severe solar storms.
When a solar storm hits Earth’s magnetic field, the resulting geomagnetic storm can kill radio communications and affect the power grid. It can cause power and radio outages for several hours or even days. However, power grid problems only occur if the solar flare is extremely strong.
On the other hand, solar storms cause an extremely beautiful night sky phenomenon known as auroras or northern lights, which attract astronomers, sky watchers and others with stunning streaks of color in the night sky.
The frequency of solar flares will increase in the coming years as the Sun reaches the peak of its solar cycle, probably around 2025.