Due to increased solar activity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch for July 24.
The culprit? A eruption of plasma and magnetic fields called a coronal mass ejection (CME) was released Sun Started on July 21st and is now Earth and Expected to arrive on July 24th.
CMEs carry electrically charged atoms called ions, and when a CME strikes the Earth’s magnetosphere, it can cause a geomagnetic storm. During a geomagnetic storm, the ions Earth’s atmosphere It releases energy in the form of light, which we call Aurora or the Aurora Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere, or the Southern Lights, or Aurora Australis, in the Southern Hemisphere.
Geomagnetic storms are classified by NOAA using a G scale to measure their strength, ranging from the most severe, G5, to the weaker, G1. NOAA’s most recent geomagnetic storm warnings are currently classified as G2.
Like Earth weather, space weather is volatile and difficult to predict. Geomagnetic storm warnings like these are not uncommon and may even disappear altogether. As July 24 approaches, Space Weather Forecasters will have a better idea of when (if at all) they should expect a CME to arrive.
Aurora chasers will eagerly await the arrival of a CME and pray for a direct hit from the aurora, but this sentiment is not shared by everyone.
CMEs can wreak havoc on our technological world, posing a threat to both satellites and astronauts. Low Earth OrbitOn Earth, CMEs can cause surges in electrical currents, overloading power grids and causing blackouts. magnetic field It disrupts radio communications and increases radio noise in the Earth’s ionosphere.
In space, energetic particles from CMEs can damage satellites in low orbit. CMEs can also warm Earth’s atmosphere and cause it to expand, thickening the medium through which satellites pass, causing additional drag that can reduce a satellite’s momentum and lower its orbit.
Astronauts receive higher radiation doses during a CME than they would on Earth, but are still largely protected by the magnetosphere. Spacecraft Structure.
For the latest space weather alerts and forecasts, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
