The intense solar activity will crash into the Earth and create some truly beautiful lights in the sky.
In recent years, the Sun has repeatedly erupted, sending coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares in the direction of Earth. It’s unclear when the CME material will reach Earth, but the next few nights are expected to be filled with dancing auroras.
Why? Because there are a group of sunspots scattered across the Sun’s equator that are currently spinning very close to Earth, spewing fire and fury.
At the time of writing, Last 24 hours Witnessed six M-class flares, 1 x X-class flare Solar flashes are bright flashes of light that appear on the sun’s surface, accompanied by emissions of X-rays and ultraviolet light that can cause brief communications disruptions on Earth.
X-class flares are the most powerful flares the Sun can produce. M-class flares are just a category below the X-class.
In addition to Solar flareThe Sun continues to emit huge eruptions of solar plasma that are intertwined with magnetic fields that extend throughout the solar system. CMEsand sometimes occur together with solar flares, both of which are closely related to sunspot regions, where the Sun’s magnetic field tangles, breaks, and reconnects, creating huge bursts of energy.
On Earth, such activity is not expected to disrupt daily life much, but a CME Geomagnetic storm If a spacecraft were to strike the Earth’s magnetosphere, the exchange of energy could cause major disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field, upper atmosphere, and plasma environment.
And then, of course, there are the Aurora Borealis: particles from CMEs and the solar wind hit the Earth’s magnetic field and are redirected and accelerated along field lines towards the poles, where they are released into the Earth’s upper atmosphere, where their interaction with particles in the ionosphere creates beautiful lights of different colors. Depending on the particles involved.
Earlier this year, we Most powerful geomagnetic storm in decadesis classified as a G5 “extreme” level. While the upcoming storms are not expected to be as powerful, some of them are still expected to reach G3 and be pretty intense. Classified as “strong”Thanks to a phenomenon called Cannibalism CME Strengthen the supply of solar materials.
As shown in this animation, our latest models indicate that Earth’s exosphere may begin to be affected by the recent coronal mass ejection around 06-12 UTC on July 30. A G3 alert will continue on Tuesday, with G2 conditions likely to persist until August 1. #SpaceWeather pic.twitter.com/S5z9iJlqGr
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) July 30, 2024
A cannibalistic CME occurs when two CMEs occur in succession with a relatively short interval between them: if the second CME is moving faster than the first, it will catch up with and “devour” the slower CME, effectively becoming a giant wave of solar material moving through the solar system.
The effect is expected to be most noticeable on July 30th, when the aurora borealis will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere. From Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregonas well Scotlandand the The southernmost point of mainland Australia Not just in the Southern Hemisphere Most of New Zealand’s South Island.
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Even more interesting is that the current CME is an oblique event: at the time the CME was released, the sunspots were not perfectly aligned with the Earth.
Due to the sun’s rotation, sunspots are located in the center of the solar disk, which is where they will have the greatest impact if the sun’s fury continues.
With peak solar activity in full swing, there’s no reason to think the Sun won’t be active, so get outside and enjoy the solar show.
