A “severe” solar storm could make the northern lights visible in the US further south than usual, but could also disrupt modern technology, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A rapid coronal mass ejection (CME) – an explosion of intense magnetic plasma from the sun’s corona – erupted from the sun on Tuesday night, prompting NOAA’s Space Prediction Center to issue a rare G4 geomagnetic storm watch, indicating “detrimental impacts.” For critical technology and widespread voltage control problems, according to NOAA.
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The CME is expected to cause a moderate solar storm on Earth on Thursday and Friday, according to NOAA.
Solar, or geomagnetic, storms occur when charged particles in the solar wind interact with Earth’s magnetic field, causing significant disturbances, according to NASA.
One of the most common manifestations of CME impacts on Earth is the appearance of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. The interaction between CMEs and the Earth’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere, creates bands of light in the northern sky that glow green, pink and other colors.
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The stronger the solar storm, the southern father of the northern lights can be seen. But further south, it appears to be more red than green, as the curvature of the Earth causes particles to interact higher in the atmosphere.
The northern lights will be visible in the northern U.S. on Thursday and could extend as far south as Alabama to Northern California, according to NOAA.
NOAA ranks geomagnetic storms on a five-point scale, with those rated G5, the strongest, capable of widespread voltage control problems that can lead to power blackouts or even complete collapse of some power grid systems. In this scenario, the aurora may be visible in southern Florida and southern Texas.
Strong geomagnetic storms can also bombard Earth with subatomic particles, which can disrupt navigation systems by disrupting radio and GPS signals and power grids, according to NOAA.
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Geomagnetic storms can also add energy to currents in the Earth’s magnetic field which can increase the density distribution in the upper atmosphere and cause extra drag on low orbit satellites.
Daily life is mostly unaffected, and the power grid is equipped to handle minor disruptions to anomalous activity on high-voltage transmission lines, Shawn Dahl, coordinator of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told ABC News earlier this year.
Last month, the display of lights was as far north as south as far as Arizona, Mississippi and Texas. Early this week, the aurora borealis is possible seen in Alaska.
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This series of bustling northern lights activity will peak as the sun reaches solar maximum in the coming months.
Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field reaches its solar maximum, which is when the number of solar flares is highest, according to NOAA.
Earth is now nearing the peak of Solar Cycle 25, where there are more sunspots with intense magnetic activity.
Influential space weather events are possible throughout 2024, with the current cycle expected to peak between November 2024 and March 2026, according to NOAA.
‘Severe’ solar storm could cause tech disruption, bring northern lights further south Originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
