Along with earth experiencing blistering heat coming from a blistering sun, some more ugly news might also be on the agenda today with a possible major solar flare/storm striking our planet, hopefully, low on the danger zone with maybe some device disruptions and some great night skies.
Although it’s pointed toward today it could happen this week:
A major solar storm will hit Earth today and may cause disruptions to radio communications and GPS according to ?@NASA?. And let’s hope for a little Aurora in the Northern latitudes. May be visible in Northern US states. pic.twitter.com/IXPdRLd3CW
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) July 19, 2022
Dr Tamitha Skov notes: ‘“The long snake-like filament cartwheeled its way off the Sun in a stunning ballet. The magnetic orientation of this Earth-directed Solar Storm is going to be tough to predict. G2-level (possibly G3) conditions may occur if the magnetic field of this storm is oriented southward.”‘
Details/background from the Independent yesterday:
The impact of a “snake-like filament” from the Sun, which Nasa predicts will happen on 19 July, will be a “direct hit” according to Dr Tamitha Skov, adding that we should “expect signal disruptions on Earth’s nightside”. It is also possible that aurora might be visible in some regions of the Earth.
However, it is possible that the storm could also come later this week. The G1-class storm – which is “minor” but could impact satellite operations – could strike the Earth on 20 or 21 July, according to SpaceWeather.
The origins of the storm come from a coronal mass ejection, a release of plasma and magnetic energy, which leapt from the Sun on 15 July by an unstable filament of magnetism. These eruptions are capable of releasing 100,000 times more energy than all the power plants on Earth generate throughout a year.
These storms come as the Sun is in the active phase of its 11 year-long solar cycle, with incidents like these expected to increase in frequency.
Over the weekend, an enormous structure of plasma and magnetic field known as a ‘prominence’ broke away from the Sun.
“The sheer size of the prominence is impressive,” says Dr Sebastian Voltmer, who captured an image of it, told SpaceWeather.
“It was spectacular to see a very fast moving part of it ejecting and detaching to the side.”
Dr. Tammitha Skov, mentioned above, is also known at Space Weather Woman, and knows her shit on how solar flares and the like operate and is supposedly noteworthy in her field:
Stunning #aurora was bright enough to be seen over the city lights of Seattle, Washington, USA last night during this ongoing #solarstorm. More shows are to be had right now on the nightside of Earth over the next 24-48 hours. Thanks for reporting! https://t.co/PCxMdWwPLO
— Dr. Tamitha Skov (@TamithaSkov) July 19, 2022
And to ease/increase the worry factor (as is the case with doomscrolling science shit), via InterestingEngineering on Saturday: ‘With the Sun now in an active phase of its 11-year solar cycle, incidents such as these are expected to increase. The question now becomes: how harmful are they really? Typically, they can cause significant blackouts to GPS navigation systems, which could end up disrupting journeys for small aircraft and ships. Other than that, however, there is not much to worry about.‘
Yeah right!
And video:
Despite solar whatever, once again here we are…
(Illustration out front: Salvador Dalí’s 1958 painting, “Meditative Rose,” and found here.)