Solar storm to strike the Earth tomorrow, NOAA issues warning; Multiple CMEs approaching the planet

After the lucky escape from a coronal mass ejection (CME) earlier this week, now another solar storm threat is facing us. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US agency tracking space weather, multiple CMEs can hit the Earth in the next two days between August 4 and 5. These were hurled by an M-class solar flare that exploded on the Earth-facing side of the Sun on August 1. This was part of a major instability event of the active sunspot AR3380. Now, as the CMEs approach, there are fears that it can spark an intense solar storm event, damaging satellites, shortwave radio communication, and more. Check the details.

According to a report by SpaceWeather.com, “Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on Aug. 4th-5th when one or more faint CMEs are expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field. They were hurled in our direction by a series of M-class eruptions from active sunspot AR3380 on Aug. 1st and 2nd”.

Solar storm expected to hit tomorrow

At present, there are as many as 9 active sunspot regions on the Earth-facing side of the Sun. This means there is a big possibility that further solar flare explosions can happen at any time. If these flares are large enough, they can release a large amount of plasma and solar material into space, which eventually forms CME. 

Compared to some of the stronger solar storm events that we have seen in the previous months, this particular one is not expected to be too strong. But, even minor storms can cause some serious damage. It can disrupt wireless communications and GPS services, causing trouble for airlines, mariners, ham radio controllers, and drone operators. The solar storm can delay flights, cause ships to change course, and disrupt any important information that is shared through these low-frequency channels.

However, things can take a turn for the worse if the next CME released is intense and it gives way to a powerful G5-class geomagnetic storm of the likes of the Carrington event. Such storms can have a far sinister impact on the Earth.

NASA Tech that predicts solar storms

The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) carries a full suite of instruments to observe the Sun and has been doing so since 2010. It uses three very crucial instruments to collect data from various solar activities. They include the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) which takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible solar disk, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) which measures the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet irradiance, and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) which provides continuous full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.