Solar storm alert: what impact it will have on Earth according to a scientific agency

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States today issued an alert and surveillance for a solar storm that could affect the Earth’s electrical and telecommunications networks.

Las solar storms o geomagnetic are a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind in the space environment surrounding our planet. As explained by NOAA on the website, these storms are the result of variations in the solar wind that produce important changes in currents, plasmas and fields in the Earth’s magnetosphere.

The most serious event -category G4- scheduled for November 12, is in the middle of a series of alerts that include moderate surveillance -G2- for the November 11 and strong surveillance -G3- for the November 13. According to the official report published this Tuesday, the activity of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) occurred since November 9 and will last until the 12th, the day on which the most energetic and fastest of all CMEs will occur.

NOAA today issued an alert and watch for a solar storm that could affect Earth’s electrical and telecommunications networks. Photo: X/Slyardley.

This particular ejecta was associated with a powerful eruption, classified as a strong solar flare -R3-, whose maximum peak intensity was recorded at 5:04 am on November 11. Additionally, this extreme solar activity triggered a moderate-level solar radiation storm -S2-, which is currently in progress.

SWPC forecasters acknowledged that forecasting the impact is complex, as the predominant ejecta from the latest CME is directed toward the north y ahead of Earth’s orbitalthough previous Coronal Mass Ejections are also in the mix and are expected to influence Earth arrival.

Despite this complexity, confidence that the most recent CME will have an Earth-directed component is high, although the exact timing of its arrival has only a moderate level of certainty.

The Prediction Center stressed that the real intensity of the CME It cannot be determined with greater precision until it reaches a million miles from Earth.at which time it will be observed by solar wind observatories. It is at that point that forecasters will be able to make any necessary decisions about issuing warnings.

The aurora could become visible across much of the northern part of the country, and perhaps as far south as Alabama or northern California.

Potential consequences on electrical networks and telecommunications

This space weather may have important consequences in technological infrastructure, including electrical power transmission, GPS systems, high frequency (HF) radio communications and satellite communications.

For reference, even a minor radio blackout -R1-, implies a slight communications degradation frequency radio signals on the sunlit side and a brief degradation of low frequency navigation signals.

For the moment, the SWPC maintains the belief that there is a real potential to reach G4 levels at the time of the arrival of the CME as the ejection pace progresses, urging the population and key sectors to stay attentive and follow the latest information and forecasts through its official channels.