If until yesterday the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) predicted for the next few hours G3 level geomagnetic stormsor of strong intensitynow the forecast sees the possibility of even storms G4 levelthat is to say decidedly intense.
Remember that solar storms are classified based on their intensity in 5 classes ranging from the lowest, G1, to the highest, G5.
It is therefore evident that having a G4 level storm it’s not a very usual thing, fortunately. In fact, during the course of an eleven-year solar cycle they occur approximately 100 storms of this magnitude. These occur close to the maximum of the solar cycle which is currently expected by the end of this year.
A very intense G4 class storm is coming
A storm of this intensity ago raise the alert level both for the infrastructure on the earth’s surfacewhich they can also suffer huge damagewhich for i satellites in orbit which they might as well be put out of use.
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However solar storms they don’t just cause damage and inconvenience but they also produce it show of the polar auroras.
In fact when on the surface of our star they happen particularly energetic phenomena in the direction of the Earth, a flow of charged particles is emitted and pushed towards our planet. This flow is mainly composed of electrons and protons with typically understood energies between 1.5 keV and 10 keV and takes the name of solar wind.
When this reaches Earth interacts with and disturbs the Earth’s magnetospherea kind of planetary shield for the charged particles of the solar wind. However, due to the process of magnetic reconnectionthe plasma of the solar wind may be able to penetrate within the magnetosphere and to interact with the ionosphere.
Is exactly from the interaction of charged particles of solar origin with the terrestrial ionosphere which the polar auroras are formedwhich take this name precisely because they are usually formed and can be observed at the poles.
How far will the auroras go?
However, in the case of particularly intense geomagnetic storms this phenomenon can happen even at lower latitudes. According to NOAA’s forecast, in the next few days theauroral oval could reach the northern nations of the United States and Europe.
Intense auroras are expected over the Scandinavian peninsula and they will also touch the Great Britain.
It is important to highlight that the auroras they form at altitudetypically at a fluctuating altitude between 80 km and 500 km and this ensures that they can be admired not only at the point where the auroral oval reaches but also to thousands of km away.
The Sun continues to put on a show: in the next few hours a train of solar storms will reach the Earth
According to NOAA forecasts the maximum probability to have intense dawns for the European nations is expected at dusk and in the early evening hours.
Obviously the auroras they are only observable at nightwhen the sky is dark, the formation of this show of lights and colors at sunset it could make their observation difficult, even more so from thousands of kilometers away, or from Italy.
However there is still hope being able to admire the auroras which form at higher altitudes, in the event that even the weather conditions help us and therefore the sky appears clear of clouds.
