NEW DELHI: A massive solar storm is heading towards Earth, potentially causing the aurora borealis to appear across the US while posing a threat to communication systems.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a occasional watch for geomagnetic storms, marking the first such warning in nearly two decades. This observation will be effective from Friday and will remain in effect throughout the weekend.
According to NOAA, the sun has been emitting intense solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in five significant plasma explosions. These eruptions, called coronal mass ejections, can disrupt satellites orbiting Earth and disrupt power grids. Each of these eruptions could contain billions of tons of solar plasma.
NOAA emphasizes the unusual nature of the event, noting that the flares appear to be associated with a sunspot 16 times larger than Earth in diameter. The agency is recalling the effects of the extreme geomagnetic storm that occurred in 2003, which caused power outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Forecasts predict that the approaching storm could bring the aurora borealis as far south as Alabama and Northern California in the US, according to NOAA.
(With agency participation)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a occasional watch for geomagnetic storms, marking the first such warning in nearly two decades. This observation will be effective from Friday and will remain in effect throughout the weekend.
According to NOAA, the sun has been emitting intense solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in five significant plasma explosions. These eruptions, called coronal mass ejections, can disrupt satellites orbiting Earth and disrupt power grids. Each of these eruptions could contain billions of tons of solar plasma.
NOAA emphasizes the unusual nature of the event, noting that the flares appear to be associated with a sunspot 16 times larger than Earth in diameter. The agency is recalling the effects of the extreme geomagnetic storm that occurred in 2003, which caused power outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Forecasts predict that the approaching storm could bring the aurora borealis as far south as Alabama and Northern California in the US, according to NOAA.
(With agency participation)
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