Earth braces for impact of most severe geomagnetic storm since 20 years

World

Published: 2024-05-10 13:27

Last Updated: 2024-05-20 21:54


Earth braces for impact of most severe geomagnetic storm since 20 years
Earth braces for impact of most severe geomagnetic storm since 20 years

Recent solar activity has stirred concerns among scientists. Just days ago, a large sunspot –which are regions on the Sun where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth's– known as "AR3664" unleashed five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) towards Earth.

Ammar Al-Sakji, the head of the Jordanian Astronomical Society, said in a statement Friday that these coronal mass ejections are expected to merge, amplifying the intensity of geomagnetic storms when they interact with Earth's magnetic field.

It is anticipated that the impact of these storms, particularly on Saturday and the following days, could reach G3 (strong) levels on the geomagnetic storm scale and possibly escalate to G4 (severe) should all five coronal mass ejections converge.

Al-Sakji added that polar lights (Auroras) are expected to be visible at medium to low latitudes across Europe and the United States.

These storms could affect high-frequency radio waves, communications, and satellite navigation. This marks the most significant geomagnetic storm since 2005, though it is not expected to have a direct impact on humans in general.

The most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history to hit Earth is known as the Carrington Event. The current sunspot AR3664 falls into the category of Carrington-class storms, which famously disrupted telegraph communications in 1859.