Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » World

US: Strong solar storm could disrupt communications this weekend

An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth this weekend could produce northern lights and potentially disrupt power and communications in parts of the United States.

Saturday May 11, 2024 11:18 AM, Agencies

[Image for representation]

Cape Canaveral (Florida): An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth this weekend could produce northern lights and potentially disrupt power and communications in parts of the United States.

Storm alert issued

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week, according to the Associated Press.

NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit to take precautions, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

"Coronal Mass Ejections"

At least five Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) of varying intensity, and consisting of electrified, magnetic gas, are expected to merge and arrive at Earth late on Friday or early Saturday, the agency said, prompting it to issue the first severe geomagnetic storm watch since January 2005, according to The Guardian.

“We have a very rare event on our hands,” Shawn Dall, Noaa’s senior space weather specialist, told a Friday press briefing.

“A series of CMEs are directed right towards us, some are catching up with others. These severe levels are pretty extraordinary, and critical infrastructure operators have been notified", Shawn said.

The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the US as Alabama and Northern California, according to NOAA. But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.

“That’s really the gift from space weather — the aurora,” said Steenburgh.

He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.

Snap a picture of the sky and “there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.

"The most intense solar storm in recorded history"

The most intense solar storm in recorded history, in 1859, prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii.

“We are not anticipating that but it could come close", said NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl.

This storm — ranked 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 — poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters. Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.

Northern Lights in UK

From Scotland's rolling hills to the bustling streets of London, Wales, and England, the UK's night sky offered a once-in-a-lifetime experience, leaving Britons in awe.

Experts note that these lights are typically most visible around the poles, where the magnetic field is strongest. However, when electrically charged particles from the sun collide with Earth's magnetic surface, it results in an even more spectacular display than usual.

The colours seen are created as they interact with gases in the atmosphere, producing different coloured palettes in the sky.

 

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.

 

 

..