On Wednesday 16 April our planet will be hit by a G2 class solar stormdue to a coronal mass expulsion (CME) which originated on the surface of the sun a few days ago, on April 13th. The scientists of the Space Weather Prediction Center of the Noaathe US agency that monitors the space weather.
The cloud of Plasma electrically loaded And magnetic fields is currently traveling to the earth, transported by the sun wind. Experts report potential interference on electricity networks, satellites, radio communications and unusual atmospheric phenomena, such as Aurore visible to lower latitudes than usual.
The sun has “shot” billions of tons of plasma in space
The phenomenon that will give rise to the geomagnetic storm is one CME (Coronal Mass Ejection): a solar explosion capable of throwing into the space billions of tons of material at very high speed, up to several million kilometers per hour. In this case, the CME has occurred Sunday 13 Apriland is now directed towards the earth.
Scientists report that associated solar shine was of class m3.2a medium-high level, and was recorded in the active region AR 4055still partially visible on the sun surface. Another eruption has also been observed in the AR 4054 area, now out of our visual field.
Due to the average distance between the earth and the sun, equal to about 150 million kilometersparticles employ two to three days to reach our planet. The effects on theterrestrial atmosphere And on the magnetic field, therefore, they are expected between on 15 and 16 Aprilwith an intensity that may vary according to the impact dynamics.
What to expect
According to Noaa, the planned storm will be G2 classTherefore moderate On a staircase ranging from G1 (minimum) to G5 (extreme). This means that there are no reasons to alarmed, but Some inconveniences may occurespecially at high latitudes.
Here’s what geomagnetic disorders could involve:
Even if this event does not approach the power of the famous remotely Carrington event of 1859 – the most violent solar storm ever recorded – remains a precious opportunity to remember how vulnerable we are to the whims of the sun. In an increasingly interconnected and technological world, An extreme sun storm It could stop internet connections, damage GPS networks and even cause extended blackouts.
This is not the case, but the experts they continue to monitor solar activity To evaluate possible evolutions of geomagnetic intensity in the next few hours.
