High-speed solar winds from a “hole” in the sun’s atmosphere will contact Earth’s magnetic field on Wednesday i.e., August 3, generating a moderate geomagnetic storm.
After detecting that “gaseous material is leaking from a southern hole in the sun’s atmosphere,” forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center made the forecast.
Overview of winds from a “hole”
These geomagnetic storms are termed G-1 and they are said to be moderate. The sun, which is the central star of our solar system, is getting closer and closer to the maximum activity period of its 11-year solar cycle.
As a result, its outbursts are getting progressively worse. In addition, a frenzy of explosive activity has been taking place on the Sun since the year 2022 began. A 150-million-kilometer distance between our sun and Earth would lead one to believe that these explosions and sparks would not affect us. This might not seem how it should be.
Despite the vast distance between them, our massive ball of fire may still release flares and coronal mass ejections that have the potential to have a tremendous impact on the entire planet.
The coronal hole
Temperature and density levels are lower and less dense in the upper atmosphere of the sun in locations known as “coronal holes.” In such holes, the sun’s magnetic field lines shoot out into space instead of circling back.
According to the Exploratorium, a San Francisco-based scientific museum, this allows solar particles to burst out in a torrent at rates of up to 1.8 million miles per hour which is 2.9 million kilometers per hour.
Experts from spaceweather.com reported that
“The explosion is significant because it may herald an active region set to emerge over the Sun’s northeastern limb later this week. A new sunspot group could bring an end to weeks of relative quiet,”
A briefing about the Geomagnetic storms
Strong magnetic fields, like Earth’s, absorb solar material, causing geomagnetic storms. During these storms, waves of energetic particles squeeze the Earth’s magnetic field a little bit. These particles move along magnetic field lines near the poles and stir up molecules in the atmosphere. This releases energy in the form of light, making colorful auroras like the ones that make up the Northern Lights.
Debris will cause a light storm. As a G1 geomagnetic storm, it has the potential to provoke minor oscillations in electricity grids and disrupt various satellite services, notably those for smartphones and navigation systems.
A Similar Event
The 1859 Carrington Event unleashed as much energy as 10 billion 1-megaton atomic bombs, according to researchers. The tremendous torrent of solar particles destroyed telegraph networks worldwide and generated auroras as far south as the Caribbean.
If a comparable event happened now, experts say it would wreak trillions of dollars in damage and extensive blackouts, like the 1989 solar flare that produced a billion-ton cloud of gas and blacked out Quebec.
