Unusual and potentially historic event: Geomagnetic storm reaches Earth

A solar storm could disrupt navigation and telecommunication services in South Africa.

May 11, 2024
Allison Cooper 3 minutes read
Image: Sansa/Facebook.

This week saw a major increase in activity on the sun, with several strong solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) erupting from the sun and being sent on a collision course with Earth.

As a result, industries that rely on navigation and telecommunication services are at risk due to the adverse effects of space weather.

In sectors such as the aviation industry, these disruptions can be catastrophic, says the South African National Space Agency (Sansa).

According to Sansa, space weather is caused by explosions on the sun that can interact with Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere, and disrupt our technological systems both in space and on the ground.

The African region experienced interruptions in high-frequency (HF) communications due to two X-class flares and several M-class flares that were observed this week, says Sansa.

“Five categories — A, B, C, M and X — are used to rank solar flares based on their intensity. A-class are the weakest, while X-class are the most energetic. The impacts of solar flares are immediate due to the flare travelling at the speed of light and reaching Earth within eight minutes.”

Several CMEs with Earth-directed components from most of the M- and X-class flares are expected to affect Earth.

A CME is a cloud of charged particles from the sun and can reach Earth between one and three days. The CMEs that were observed on May 8 were likely to reach Earth yesterday and continue into today.

“A G1/Minor up to G3/Strong geomagnetic storm is forecasted to impact Earth due to the likely combination of these CMEs upon arrival. There is a slight chance that the geomagnetic conditions will reach G4/Severe storm levels today. These may impact the performance of navigation and communications applications,” says Sansa.

“The sun has an 11-year solar cycle, going from solar minimum to solar maximum. We are expecting to reach the solar maximum in 2025.

“As we move closer to solar maximum, we anticipate an increase in the frequency of space weather events. Sansa will continue to monitor and work with its clients and stakeholders in government and private sectors to ensure that they have access to real-time information to best protect their assets.”

Sansa launched its 24/7 operational Space Weather Centre at its facility in Hermanus in November 2022. The state-of-the-art facility operates around the clock to monitor and mitigate the risk of space weather on our continent.

Sansa has been actively studying and forecasting space weather since 2009 and is the only accredited space weather centre in Africa.

Follow daily space weather updates here.

Potentially historic event

Clinton Wallace, the director of the American-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC), says the centre has been monitoring the sun following a series of solar flares and CMEs that began on Wednesday.

“This is an unusual and potentially historic event,” says Wallace.

This is the first time a storm watch has been issued for a G4 since January 2005.

Space weather forecasters issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for last night, and said additional solar eruptions could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist through the weekend.

It added that at least seven flares were associated with CMEs that appear to be Earth-directed and have taken place since Wednesday.

Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations. SWPC notified the operators of these systems so they could take protective action.

Geomagnetic storms can also trigger spectacular displays of aurora on Earth.

Photo by Janine Taylor/Facebook. Taken in Kleinbaai, Western Cape.

 

Photo: Johan Le Roux/Facebook.

A severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for aurora to be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California.

Read original story on www.citizen.co.za

May 11, 2024
Allison Cooper 3 minutes read
Back to top button