It’s been about a week since the last solar storm hit Earth. And it was a relatively minor storm that didn’t really affect us much. The worst was experienced in the Indian Ocean region where a temporary radio blackout was observed. But things are about to rapidly change for the worse. NASA has issued a warning of a major solar storm attack on Earth. The initial hit is expected tomorrow, April 19, when brightening is expected and a massive direct hit is predicted on April 20. If this solar storm hits Earth, the impact could be far more dangerous.
The information comes from space weather physicist Tamita Skov, popularly known as the Space Weather Lady. recently doshe said, “Ready for #Aurora? #SolarStorm head-on. NASA predicts April 20 impact. Additional brightening storms launched earlier mean activity could start as late as April 19 Expect extended aurora at higher latitudes with a good chance of views down to mid-latitudes through the 20th.
Solar storm may knock in next two days
The source of this solar storm is a giant coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud that is moving towards Earth. The cloud is rotating in a crescent shape and that is why aftershocks are expected earlier than a direct hit. However, this partial strike could have a worrying effect. This can weaken Earth’s magnetic field enough to cause cracks in it, which can allow CMEs to escape into the upper atmosphere and cause far more intense storms.
Apart from this, Skov has also revealed in its weekly forecast that there is a 10 percent chance of an X-class solar flare bursting on the Sun. Such eruptions are the biggest reason behind shortwave radio blackouts and GPS interference. If such an eruption occurs and it coincides with a solar storm, the overall effect could be more complex.
A solar storm like today’s can be quite severe. It can disrupt GPS, disrupt mobile networks and the Internet, and even contaminate power grids to cause massive power outages. Even electronic equipment on earth is not immune from damage.
The role of the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory
The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) maintains a full suite of instruments to observe the Sun and has been doing so since 2010. It uses three very important instruments to collect data from various solar activities. These include the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) that takes high-resolution measurements of longitudinal and vector magnetic fields over the entire visible solar disk, the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) that measures the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet radiation, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). measures. It provides continuous full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.
.
This news is auto-generated through an RSS feed. We don’t have any command over it. News source: Multiple Agencies: hindustantimes, techrepublic, computerweekly,