Terrifying solar storm! CME cloud to strike the Earth today, reveals NOAA satellite

A fearsome solar storm is expected to hit the Earth today, May 27. NOAA satellite has detected a large CME cloud making its way towards our planet. It is likely to deliver glancing blows.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: May 27 2023, 10:35 IST

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Think you know our Sun? Check out THESE 5 stunning facts

1/5 The Sun is the largest object in our solar system and is a 4.5 billion-year-old star – a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium at the center of the solar system. It is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth, and without its energy, life as we know it could not exist here on our home planet. (Pixabay)

image caption — 2/5 The Sun’s volume would need 1.3 million Earths to fill it. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything from the biggest planets to the smallest bits of debris in orbit around it. The hottest part of the Sun is its core, where temperatures top 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). The Sun’s activity, from its powerful eruptions to the steady stream of charged particles it sends out, influences the nature of space throughout the solar system. (NASA)

3/5 According to NASA, measuring a “day” on the Sun is complicated because of the way it rotates. It doesn't spin as a single, solid ball. This is because the Sun’s surface isn't solid like Earth's. Instead, the Sun is made of super-hot, electrically charged gas called plasma. This plasma rotates at different speeds on different parts of the Sun. At its equator, the Sun completes one rotation in 25 Earth days. At its poles, the Sun rotates once on its axis every 36 Earth days. (NASA)

Solar Storm — Know all about the solar storm that is about to strike the Earth today. (Pixabay)

For the last three days, scientists have been looking at two dangerous sunspots that have been threatening the Earth with a potential X-class solar flare eruption, but luckily, they have not exploded yet. But one of them, sunspot AR3311, blasted an M1.9-class flare four days ago, as it was beginning to face the Earth. The coronal mass ejection (CME) from the eruption is now expected to hit our planet today, May 27, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This means another attack by these terrifying solar storms is coming towards the Earth.

According to a report by SpaceWeather.com, “NOAA forecasters say that a CME might pass near Earth (or maybe deliver a glancing blow) today, May 26th. It was hurled into space four days ago by an M1.9-class flare from sunspot complex AR3311-12. At most, minor G1-class geomagnetic storms could result from the close encounter”.

Solar storm to strike the Earth today

Compared to some of the stronger solar storm events that we have seen in the month of May, this particular one is not expected to be too strong. However, even minor storms can cause some serious damage. It can disrupt wireless communications and GPS services, causing trouble for airlines, mariners, ham radio controllers, and drone operators. The solar storm can delay flights, cause ships to change course, and disrupt any important information that is shared through these low-frequency channels.

And even after this storm passes, the threat of the large sunspot still looms over the Earth. The sunspots are fully capable of exploding again and this time produce a far stronger flare, that can eventually result in a more intense solar storm.

NOAA's DSCOVR satellite's role in solar storm monitoring

NOAA monitors solar storms and Sun's behavior using its DSCOVR satellite which became operational in 2016. The recovered data is then run through 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: 27 May, 10:34 IST