Alert! Furious solar winds to spark solar storm on Earth tomorrow; This is what can happen

According to NOAA, a powerful solar storm can strike the Earth tomorrow, Sep. 23 due to fast moving solar winds.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Sep 23 2022, 00:01 IST

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The Earth has become a standing target for the incessant solar storm attacks this year. And after a small break, the solar storm attack is back again. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), fast-moving solar winds are going to strike the Earth tomorrow, September 23, causing a solar storm. This event takes place mere days after a solar flare eruption on the Sun caused radio blackouts in Africa and the Middle East. But how powerful is this solar storm and should we be concerned? Read on to find out.

This development was reported by SpaceWeather.com which noted on its website, “NOAA forecasters say that a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is possible on Sept. 23rd when a high-speed stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. High-latitude auroras are possible when the windy stream arrives”.

Solar storm to hit the Earth tomorrow

Right now, it is not possible to fully gauge just how this solar storm might affect us. On top of that, due to it being on the day of equinox, the magnetosphere of Earth will be weakened, resulting in easier access of solar particles and radiation to enter the Earth's atmosphere. This can also increase the intensity of the storm and can cause radio blackouts and GPS disruptions that may lead to travel delays.

With the Sun moving towards its solar maximum, the main threat Earth is facing is being struck by a G5-class solar storm. Such a solar storm can burn and destroy satellites in Earth's lower orbital space and massively disrupt and breakdown wireless communications like shortwave radio transmissions, GPS, mobile network and even internet access. In the worst case scenario, power grids can also be damaged due to such a solar storm.

How NOAA tracks these solar storms

All of this information is being collected in real time through some amazing tech. NOAA monitors the solar storms and Sun's behavior using its DSCOVR satellite which became operational in 2016. The recovered data is then run through the computers at the Space Weather Prediction Center and the final analysis is prepared. The different measurements are done on temperature, speed, density, degree of orientation and frequency of the solar particles.

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First Published Date: 22 Sep, 19:06 IST