Scientists at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center predict the impact of a geomagnetic storm on Earth today, Monday, June 10, 2024. What triggered the phenomenon and what are the risks.
Credit: NASA/SDO
Today, Monday June 10, 2024the experts of space weather predict the impact of one geomagnetic storm Of class G2 (moderate) on Earth. What triggered it, as explained by spaceweatherlive.com, was the flow of solar wind thrown by a violent coronal mass ejection (CME), in turn linked to a blast M 9.7 occurred on Saturday 8 June. The phenomenon started from the complex of sunspots AR 3697formerly known as AR 3664 (before disappearing and reappearing on the opposite side of the Sun). It is a gigantic “cold” area and more high magnetic instability who had already been responsible for the series acute solar storms (G4) of May, those that gave life to the spectacular northern Lights also in skies of Italy exactly one month ago.
The geomagnetic storm forecast for today is not associated with any probability of polar lights in our latitudes, however it cannot be ruled out that this could happen again in the near future. The reason lies in the fact that the Sun is getting closer to the maximum peak of magnetic activity of his 11 year cycleexpected between the end of 2024 and the summer of 2025. The closer we get to the peak, the greater the number of Sunspots that appear on the star and, with them, the risk of radiation storms and geomagnetic on our planet.
The lines of the turbulent magnetic field associated with sunspots, in fact, can undergo a phenomenon called “reconnection”, in which they break and reconnect. During this process a huge amount of can be released power in the form of solar flares or flares, eruptions of electrically charged particles (plasma) that can result in coronal mass ejection. If this material from the Sun is projected towards the Earth, as in the case of the M 9.7 class flare on Saturday 8 June, it is possible to predict more or less violent geomagnetic storms.
Huge sunspot aimed at Earth: risks and probability of auroras in Italy
As indicated, for today it is Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a G2-class solar storm on a scale of 5 (G1 to G5). This is a moderate event, which however is not without risks. They can indeed be damaged the power systems and transformers, as well as triggering blackout in HF radio communications at high latitudes. Significant problems for i are also possible satellites, which could lose the correct orbital alignment. During these phenomena the air warms up and becomes denser, so spacecraft passing through it face greater resistance. In the case of small satellites, the phenomenon can cause deorbit with catastrophic results, as happened with dozens of Starlink satellites in February 2023, ended up irreparably destroyed in the uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Added to all this are alterations in the behavior of the animals animals which exploit the Earth’s magnetic field (through a sense known as magnetoreception) to orient themselves and migrate; s have been associated with some strong solar stormsmass complaints Of cetaceans like the pilot whales.
The power of geomagnetic storms is in turn associated with that of the flares that trigger them. A class M eruption, like the one on June 8, is on the penultimate step before class X, the most energetic. Each of the four classes (B, C, M and X) is divided into 9 subcategories – from 1 to 9 – with the exception of X, which can have “unlimited” power. To date the strongest flare ever recorded was a X 45 in 2003. These events associated with CMEs can trigger geomagnetic storms G5 they can have devastating effects on the Earth, given that they could destroy electricity, internet and satellite networks, sending us back to a technological Middle Ages for weeks or even months. Fortunately, a moderate solar storm is forecast for today, but experts continue to constantly monitor our star to predict possible dramatic exceptional events.
