Solar storm warning: Stream of charged particles set to lash Earth - impact time predicted
Solar storm warning: Stream of charged particles set to lash Earth - impact time predicted
A hole has opened in the southern region of the Sun and is spewing a stream of charged particles towards Earth. NASA images snapped by the space agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) reveal a large "coronal hole" in the Sun's outer atmosphere - the corona. The stream of "gaseous material" escaping this hole is forecast to hit the planet between Saturday and Sunday.
According to the website SpaceWeather.com, this could result in some minor geomagnetic unrest in the planet's magnetosphere - the region of space dominated by Earth's magnetic field.
Solar winds are a constant stream of plasma that flows from the Sun's corona and out into space.
The plasma is mostly comprised of free-flowing electrons and protons.
The streams escape the corona, which is the Sun's outermost layer that reaches temperatures of up to 1.1 million C.
The biggest solar wind emissions are typically attributed to coronal holes.
The stream heading towards Earth is expected to produce some beautiful aurora effects in the polar regions.
And the good news is that the forecast does not predict any impacts on technology or communications.
Depending on their severity, solar storms are known to sometimes knock out satellites or cause power blackouts.
SpaceWeather.com's astronomers wrote: "Earth is exiting one solar wind stream. Another is on the way.
© EXPRESS Sun fact sheet: Incredible facts about the Sun
"Flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere, the gaseous material is due to arrive on November 21 to 22.
"NOAA forecasters say that a corotating interaction region (CIR) travelling just ahead of the stream could spark geomagnetic activity and Arctic auroras on November 20."
Corotating interaction regions or CIRs describe a compression region that forms ahead of a coronal hole stream.
They form as a result of slower solar winds interacting with the higher-speed stream.
According to the American Meteorological Society, they most often develop ahead of "more persistent coronal holes".
When they reach the Earth, the interplanetary magnetic field strength increases and can trigger geomagnetic storms (solar storms).
Solar storms are ranked on a scale of "G1 Minor" to "G5 Extreme".
At the lower end of the scape, the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) says minor storms can cause weak power grid fluctuations and disturb satellite operations.
Weak storms can also create auroras in the polar regions by exciting atoms and molecules of gas to new energy levels.
Extreme storms, on the other hand, have the potential to trigger mass blackouts and knock out communications.
Historical records suggest they may even create auroras as far south as Florida or Texas.
According to the latest SWPC forecast, the inbound solar winds are not expected to have any noticeable impact on the planet.
Instead, the three-day forecast predicts "unsettled to active levels" of geomagnetic activity "due to coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS) effects".
Similarly, the SWPC does not expect any radio blackouts over the weekend.
Reference: Daily Express: Sebastian Kettley
Articles - Latest
- SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR PAYS TRIBUTE AFTER DEATH OF BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER CO-STAR
- BROOKLYN NINE-NINE' ACTOR ANDRE BRAUGHER'S CAUSE OF DEATH REVEALED
- TRIBUTES POUR IN AFTER FORMER FERRARI PRESS OFFICER ALBERTO ANTONINI PASSES AWAY
- BELOVED BEACH BOYS MEMBER DIES FROM CANCER
- EMMERDALE STARS HAIL STEVE HALLIWELL A ‘SOAP ICON’ AFTER HIS DEATH AGED 77
- KUWAIT RULER SHEIKH NAWAF DIES AT 86 AFTER WEEKS IN HOSPITAL
- KENNY DEFOREST DEATH: COMEDY WORLD MOURNS LOSS OF BELOVED STAND-UP, 37, KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENT
- AC/DC DRUMMER COLIN BURGESS DIES AGED 77
- LEGENDARY DJ AND RADIO HOST DIES FROM HEART ATTACK AGED 75
- EDITOR OF VLADIMIR PUTIN'S 'FAVOURITE PROPAGANDA NEWSPAPER' FOUND DEAD AT HOME IN MOSCOW
- MR. BIG STUFF SINGER JEAN KNIGHT DIES AGED 80
- HENRY KISSINGER, SECRETARY OF STATE UNDER PRESIDENTS NIXON AND FORD, DIES AT 100
- ATTENBOROUGH UNVEILS ‘T-REX OF THE SEA’ WITH 150-MILLION-YEAR-OLD FOSSIL
- STAGE AND SCREEN STAR SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD DIES AGED 87
- The experience of Transcendence- Milarepa
- Shocking Report: King Charles III allegedly profiting from deceased citizens
- Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were not only a global power couple but also best friends and life mates
- The remarkable South London woman who claimed to be the reincarnation of Ancient Egyptian priestess whose 'past life memories' left historians stunned
- The Human Condition - Contemplation and the Divine Therapy-6
- DARCELLE XV DEAD: WORLD'S OLDEST WORKING DRAG QUEEN DIES AS COMMUNITY LEFT HEARTBROKEN
- ASTEROID EXPLODES OVER ENGLISH CHANNEL AFTER HURTLING TOWARDS EARTH
- 'REST IN POWER': VIGILS HELD ACROSS UK TO REMEMBER TRANS TEEN FATALLY STABBED IN PARK
- LEGALLY BLONDE STAR RAQUEL WELCH DIES AGED 82
Articles - Most Read
- Main
- Contact Us
- The science behind Ouija boards
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness-2
- Cosmic Consciousness-Introduction
- Cosmic Consciousness - Introduction-2
- MASSIVE 6.1 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HITS NEW ZEALAND AS NATION STILL REELING FROM CYCLONE
- ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNRAVEL THE TRUTH OF APHRODITE, GODDESS OF LOVE, ON VALENTINE'S DAY
- The Human Condition-Thomas Keating
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - 1V - 2
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - V -
- Cosmic Consciousness V - 2
- Cosmic consciousness - First Words - IV
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness?
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 2
- The Human Condition - Thomas keating-3
- Drinking From The Mountain Stream - Milarepa
- The Human Condition-2-Thomas Keating
- The Human Condition - 4
- Cosmic Consciousness-On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- Cosmic Consciousness - 3 - On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 1
- The Human Condition - 6
- Shakyamuni Buddha or India the 1st “Black Revolutionary Hero.”
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness - 2
- Milarepa's World
- The Human Condition - 5
- Milarepa's World-2
- The Buddhist System of Liberation
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness IV
- JERRY RAWLINGS, GHANAIAN STRONG MAN WHO CAME TO POWER IN A COUP BUT INTRODUCED DEMOCRACY – OBITUARY
- Contemplation and the Divine Therapy - 2
- The Buddhist System of Liberation - 2
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness IV - 2