Cannibal Coronal Mass Ejection From Sun Could Cause Days-Long Radio Blackout: Report

A cannibal coronal mass ejection (CME) was expected to hit Earth Tuesday. According to reports, it could trigger geomagnetic storms.

Cannibal Coronal Mass Ejection Could Cause Radio Blackouts

A cannibal coronal mass ejection is when one smaller CME is overtaken and engulfed by a larger, faster-moving CME, consuming and combining the two plumes of solar plasma and radiation.

The slower CME was burped out by the sun on Friday, and the second, faster CME on Saturday. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center models show that the second CME would cannibalize the first, Newsweek reported.

The joint CME was due to hit the Earth Tuesday (July 18), which may spark G1 or G2 geomagnetic storms, altering the magnetic fields surrounding the Earth and leading to auroras over higher latitudes and minor power grid fluctuations.

According to the NOAA experts, the ongoing solar storms have already hit the polar regions and may cause days-long radio blackouts, CBS News reported.

In a Polar Cap Absorption (PCA), which could result in radio blackouts, high- and very-high-frequency radio waves are absorbed in the ionosphere while low- and very-low-frequency radio waves are reflected at lower altitudes than usual. According to NOAA, the event began Monday night at about 9:15 p.m. ET.

The coronal mass ejection (CME), a huge cloud of plasma that emerges from the sun, and the powerful M5 solar flare were responsible for the occurrence. Those explosions set off a small solar radiation storm bombarded Earth with powerful protons.

According to NOAA, PCA occurrences can hinder communication via HF radio propagation around the polar areas and endure for hours to days. The event is expected to last through July 18 and possibly extend until July 19.

On a scale from S1 to S5, the solar radiation storm is rated as an S1, suggesting that it won't have any health effects or interfere with satellite operations; however, it may result in radio blackouts at the poles.

The agency's announcement of an M5.7 flare and CME originating from the same location of the sun as well as the observation by a satellite of a moderate solar radiation storm with the potential to create radio blackouts on the sunlit side of Earth came just before NOAA's alert.

The agency predicted solar flares for the entire week, with a probability of X-class outbursts on Monday and Tuesday. X-class flares are the strongest and are characterized as "explosions on the surface of the sun." However, researchers warn that a "cannibal" CME is also approaching since the sun, which is presently in the fourth year of its cycle, has saw more plasma bursts.

What Is Coronal Mass Ejection?

When the sun's tightly wrapped magnetic field lines unexpectedly realign, enormous plumes of solar material are launched into space at incredible speeds.

According to Martin Connors, a professor of space science and physics at Canada's Athabasca University, the solar wind often moves past at a speed of 300 to 700 [kilometers per second], or roughly one million miles per hour, with up to 10 particles per cubic centimeter. The solar wind also contains a weak magnetic field, far more vulnerable than that which rotates compasses on Earth's surface.

Geomagnetic storms can be started when CMEs impact the magnetic field and atmosphere of the Earth. According to Daniel Brown, an associate professor of astronomy and science communication at Nottingham Trent University, a geomagnetic storm is a modification of the Earth's magnetic environment, which occurs when the magnetic fields that typically surround our planet begin to be distorted.

The severity of a geomagnetic storm depends on how much the CME impacts our magnetic field and is categorized as G1 to G5.

Check out more news and information on Solar Flares in Science Times.