NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has released a photo of a massive coronal hole forming in the Sun’s atmosphere, shooting a fast-moving stream of solar wind toward Earth.
“The current coronal hole is 300,000-400,000 kilometers in diameter” said the Business Insidernek Alex Young, deputy science director at NASA Goddard Heliophysics Science Division. He said, “it is about 20-30 times the size of the Earth”.
According to Young, coronal holes release a solar wind that can travel towards us at speeds of 500 to 800 km per second. He further added that the solar wind will reach the Earth around Friday.
“We will probably see the effects of the high-speed solar wind on March 24. When the wind reaches the Earth, the particles and the magnetic field they carry interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, effectively disrupting it.” he added.
According to the space weather website SolarHam, when the solar wind reaches Earth, a moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm forms. But what can happen then?
As a result of small geomagnetic activity, an electric current is induced in the line. This is especially true for very long telephone and telegraph lines, such as transatlantic or Canada-North American telephone and telegraph lines. In 1859, it was observed that during a magnetic storm, even though the network was disconnected from the voltage source, the network continued to function despite the disconnection. Geomagnetic storms triggered by major solar flares sometimes produce quite startling effects in these conduits. They can disrupt electrical and telephone networks, and electronic items. The satellites can go crazy, and with it the equipment that uses GPS.
In addition to the threat of this week’s geomagnetic storm, sunspot cycle 25 has already begun and is expected to be active. This could spell trouble for the digital economy, as disruptions from solar flares can cause economic damage. Last year, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service lost 40 satellites after a geomagnetic storm knocked them out of orbit.
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