The Sun is sending off yet another massive solar flare that is coming straight for the Earth. On Wednesday, November 24, a solar explosion was observed, also known as a Coronal Mass Injection (CME). It is thought to have delivered a 'glancing blow.'
Solar flares are widespread, and while not all of them go towards Earth, when they do, they have the potential to cause havoc, Mirror said. Experts predict that the severity of the problem will result in an 'Internet Apocalypse.'
Solar Storm: Sun to Eject 50,000 Mile-Long 'Canyon of Hot Plasma'
One of the plasma filaments on the Sun's southern hemisphere split and collapsed, releasing a massive number of particles, according to Spaceweather.com. Although most of the burst will pass south of Earth, a tiny amount will still influence our magnetic field, prompting experts to anticipate modest G1-class geomagnetic storms for November 27.
When the plasma filament snapped, it carved a "canyon of fire" into the Sun's surface that was visible for more than 6 hours. Furthermore, the storm going our way may be strong enough to generate Arctic auroras, which is always a fantastic photo opportunity.
A large filament erupted from the Sun's southern hemisphere, prompting the warning. The filament blew a hole in the Sun's atmosphere, releasing a shower of debris into space. Space weather experts said the filament resembles a 50,000-mile-long canyon with towering walls of red-hot plasma.
CMEs Explained
When CMEs collide with the Earth's magnetosphere, an area of space dominated by the magnetic field, a geomagnetic (solar) storm can happen.
The SWPC (per Irish Mirror) explained that a geomagnetic storm is a large disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere that happens when the solar wind exchanges energy extremely efficiently into the space environment around Earth.
These storms are caused by fluctuations in the solar wind, which cause large changes in the Earth's magnetosphere's currents, plasmas, and fields.
The arrival of a CME is usually associated with the strongest solar storms. Scientists will rank the resultant storm on a scale of "G1 Minor" to "G5 Extreme" based on the severity of the CME.
Minor storms can disrupt satellite operations, and mild power grid fluctuations can occur at the low end of the range. At northern latitudes, weak storms may also produce magnificent aurora.
According to The Independent, the Earth has been hit by a series of geomagnetic storms over the last week as the Sun begins its new solar cycle, which lasts 11 years and peaks in 2025.
These ejections can occur often enough that later ones move quicker than their predecessors and blend with the slower ones.
"That first CME essentially works its way through the 93 million miles and almost clearing a path out for other CMEs to come in behind it," Bill Murtagh, a program coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Space.
NOAA's team uses the Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr), a one-million-mile spacecraft that orbits Earth in the direction of the Sun. When a CME hits the ship, experts estimate that the storm will take 20 to 30 minutes to reach the Earth.
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