Earth could bear the brunt of a geomagnetic storm in the form of a full halo explosion from the Sun hit on Saturday. A coronal mass ejection is predicted to hit the Earth’s magnetic field after a high-speed storm cloud collided with the Sun on Thursday.
The Center of Excellence in Space Science India under the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata notified the large trans-equatorial coronal hole seen on the Sun, which is spewing the solar wind and likely to interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere .
A coronal mass ejection is the ejection of charged particles ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere (corona). When these particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they create breathtaking auroras, but can wreak havoc on electrical grids or disrupt spacecraft operations and satellite communications.
The Earth became vulnerable to the solar winds as a result of the rupture of a vast valley of fire on the Sun. The filaments on the Sun are clouds made of solar material and hang over the star due to magnetic forces. These are very unstable and can last for a few days or weeks.
SpaceWeather.com reported that the filaments were first observed around July 12 when astronomers observed dark lines against the background of the Sun. On July 15, a filament went into the Sun’s northern hemisphere and exploded. This caused a valley of fire, which shot solar material toward Earth.
In North America, hurricane-causing auroras can extend as far as Illinois or Oregon, while they can also be visible from as far north as Scotland. Radio propagation may also be affected at high latitudes, including New York and Idaho in the US and northern regions of the United Kingdom. Some migratory animals may be killed because some of these animals use the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation.
Hurricanes occur because the Sun’s activity increases as part of the regular, 11-year solar cycle.
