Extremely powerful fire emanating from the Sun – Photo: NASA
This solar storm is classified X1.5, the 20th X-ray – the most powerful type of solar flare – in the current 11-year solar cycle. This cycle is expected to peak in 2024 space.com,
The flames that make up solar flares are energetic beams of radiation. They erupt from cold, magnetically dense regions of the Sun’s surface, known as sunspots.
Traveling at the speed of light, photons from these flames reach our Earth in 8 minutes. When the radiation from the flame interacts with particles in the Earth’s ionosphere (the region of the atmosphere at altitudes between 80 km and 650 km), it becomes energetic.
Solar storm activity will affect radio and satellite signals passing through this region.
According to solar physicist Keith Strong, Saturday’s storm was a powerful Category 3 storm on a scale of 5 developed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“Firestorm X1.5 caused an R3 (strong) radio blackout event over the daylight part of Earth (including much of the US, Canada and the Pacific Ocean). Frequencies below 5 MHz were most affected and navigation Signal lost. ,” Mr Strong said on X (Twitter).
According to the UK Met Office, the fire erupted from the largest and most active group of sunspots. And this storm came just two days after the slightly weaker X-rays on August 5.
In addition to these two intense flares, the Sun has produced several moderate flares in recent days, three of which occurred in the past 24 hours.
Forecast of geomagnetic storm hitting the earth
According to the predictions, there may be two Coronal Mass Eruptions (CMEs) in the near future. These are giant clouds of magnetized gas that usually escape from the Sun with solar flares.
CMEs hitting Earth can produce geomagnetic storms when they interact with Earth’s magnetic field.
Geomagnetic storms create beautiful aurora rays. However, they can also cause problems for satellite operators. In the most severe cases, geomagnetic storms can knock out power and telecommunication networks.
According to Spaceweather.com, the upcoming geomagnetic storm could reach G3 strength.
(TagstoTranslate) solar storm
