The National Weather Service’s (SWPC) Space Weather Prediction Center in U.S warned what geomagnetic storm the G2 class, caused by the Sun, could hit Earth this Thursday.
This phenomenon starts with an explosion on the solar surface. Geomagnetic storms are caused by a coronal mass ejection – a wave made of solar radiation and wind – released from the sun.
If the activity is Earth-oriented, it could result in a significant excess of solar wind and affect our planet. However, at low levels, it does not harm humans. On this occasion, the report issued on August 31 by the SWPC specified that, given the “Conditions, is likely to cause a small geomagnetic storm”.
The SWPC also warned of the possibility that the geomagnetic storm, present on Earth since Monday, could become a G2 level.
Auroras or Earth damage
These storms are capable of damaging power grids and transformers, interfering with satellites, disrupting radio communications and producing auroras farther south on the planet than normal.
The Space Weather Center reported several explosive events that were taking place on the Sun in recent days, affecting the Earth. For example, auroras have been detected in southern Alaska; New York; in Vermont; in New Hampshire and Maine.
Geomagnetic storm scale
At geomagnetic storms They are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest and 5 the most damage potential. Level 2 or G2 storms are moderate and they don’t pose a danger to humans.
However, even a G1 geomagnetic storm can cause problems: as long as there can be grid failures and minimal impacts on satellite operations.
Also, they can make auroras visible at unusual latitudes. The impact level and auroras are subject to the geomagnetic storm scale.
Geomagnetic Storm G5
The most powerful storm of its kind in history occurred on September 2, 1859. It was the famous Carrington event, level G5. Reports from the time speak of the total interruption of telegraphs, of the flaws in the compasses of ships at sea, and the appearance of the northern lights in unexpected places. In a world so dependent on the connection, an event similar to the Carrington Event could do untold damage.
In early 2021, Dmitri Vibe, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, made a prediction about this. The researcher claims that over the next eleven years – estimated duration of the new solar cycle -, the geomagnetic storms that the plague of the planet would no longer be considered unusual events to become part of everyday life.
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