The US agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has sent out a rare geomagnetic storm warning – the first in almost 20 years. It applies from Friday until the weekend.
NOAA states that there has been a strong solar storm that began on Wednesday. They have recorded five eruptions in which plasma has been ejected, which can affect satellites and power grids here on Earth.
So-called coronal mass eruptions – where plasma is ejected from the sun – can contain billions of tonnes of solar plasma. NOAA describes this latest event as rare, saying it is linked to a sunspot 16 times the diameter of Earth.
– There are several solar storms in a row, actually. What has happened is that a large dark spot has had several explosions several times on the sun. This has sent out clouds of gas several times in the last 24 hours, says Head of Department Pål Brekke at the Norwegian Space Center Bergens Tidende.
According to him, some of the clouds move quickly, some more slowly. Six or seven of these are now on their way to Earth. Brekke says that the American experts report that this might be among the most powerful geomagnetic storms in a long time.
According to Brekke, the storm is not dangerous for people on the ground.
– But in the worst case, you get power cuts and problems with communication if it turns out to be very powerful, he says.
During a similar incident in 2003, there was a power outage in Sweden and damage to transformers in South Africa.
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2024-05-12 19:05:18
