A powerful solar storm will continue to manifest on Earth this Saturday, the day following the highest energy events in two decades triggered spectacular polar auroras visible from Great Britain to Argentina or Chilethreatening communications outages by satellite and in electrical networks.
The first of several expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun began shortly following 4:00 p.m. GMT on Friday, according to the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.
NOAA classified the geomagnetic storm as “extrema“, as it is the most powerful since October 2003, when several plasma explosions from the solar corona caused blackouts in Sweden and damage to energy infrastructure in South Africa.
On Friday night, the resocial networks were filled with photos of aurhours captured in the northern Europe and in countries of the southern hemisphere as Chile, Argentina, Australia or New Zealand and it is expected that the phenomenon continue the weekend.
“We’ve just woken up the kids to see the Northern Lights in the backyard! It’s visible to the naked eye,” Iain Mansfield, a political adviser based in Hertford, UK, told AFP.
“I have the feeling of living a historic night in France,” said Eric Lagadec, astrophysicist at the Côte d’Azur Observatory, on the X social network.
NOAA said Saturday that “storms of varying intensity” will persist at least through Sunday.
“The threat of more strong flares and coronal mass ejections [CME, por su sigla en inglés] “will remain until the large, complex sunspot cluster rotates out of sight in the coming days,” he said.
Authorities asked satellite operators, airlines and power grid managers to take precautionary measures once morest possible disturbances caused by changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
The American Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) stated that “no significant consequences are expected” in terms of air traffic.
An impact on communications and birds – Unlike solar flares, which travel at the speed of light and reach Earth in eight minutes, these ejecta travel at a slower rate of 800 km per second.
Magnetic fields associated with geomagnetic storms induce currents in long conductors, including cables, which can cause blackouts.
They can also have impacts on high-frequency radio communication, GPS, in spacecraft and satellites.
This phenomenon can even affect pigeons and other species that have internal biological compasses.
Elon Musk, whose satellite internet operator Starlink has regarding 5,000 satellites low in Earth’s orbit, described the solar storm as the “biggest in a long time.”
“The Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but they are holding up for the moment,” Musk said on the X social network.
China’s National Space Weather Center issued a “red alert” on Saturday morning warning that the storm is expected to continue throughout the weekend as it will affect communications and navigation in most parts of the country, the agency reported. state news agency Xinhua.
“Go out tonight and look” – An effect that amazed people around the world were the polar lights – known as borealis or austral, depending on the hemisphere – in latitudes where they are not usually visible.
Mathew Owens, professor of space physics at the University of Reading, in the United Kingdom, explained to AFP that the effects will be visible mainly in the northern and southern latitudes of the planet and that the exact extent will depend on the power of the storm.
“My advice is to go outside tonight and look, because if you see an aurora, it’s something spectacular,” he continued.
In the United States, this phenomenon might even be observed in states such as California and Alabama.
Brent Gordon of NOAA Space Weather Services suggested taking nighttime photos with cell phones, even if the aurora is not visible to the naked eye. “You would be surprised what you can see in the photo” captured with the most modern cell phones, he said.
The authorities recommend that the population maintain the usual measures once morest possible blackouts, such as having flashlights, batteries and radios on hand.
The largest solar storm on record is the “Carrington event,” which occurred in 1859, which destroyed the telegraph network in the United States.
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