Mystery ‘surprise’ solar storm hits earth leaving forecasters baffled – and impact could last for days
A MINOR solar storm struck Earth over the weekend, sparking displays of the Northern Lights in the Arctic.
The storm was caused by a volley of radiation known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), according to space weather trackers.
A CME occurs when the Sun ejects a cloud of charged particles from its atmosphere.
They are one of the most powerful forms of a solar storm.
“A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm broke out around midnight (UT) on June 25-26," according to experts at Spaceweather.com.
“Forecasters aren't sure why. The prime suspect is an unexpected CME embedded in the solar wind."
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Since the solar storm was classified as G1, it's minor and is not expected to have adverse effects on Earth.
G1 storms can cause weak power grid fluctuations and have minor impacts on satellite communications.
Stronger storms have been known to knock out power grids and cause widespread radio blackouts.
Space weather expert Dr Tamitha Skov said on Twitter on Saturday, “Fast solar wind hits Earth!
“Expect unsettled to stormy conditions for the next 48-72 hrs.
“High latitude #aurora chasers should get good shows with sporadic views at mid-latitudes.
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“Amateur radio operators watch for minor disruptions & auroral propagation through #FieldDay weekend.”
When CME is aimed at the Earth it boosts the aurora borealis and australis.
These natural light shows are generated when particles from the solar wind excite atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere, which makes them glow.
The wavy patterns that result often resemble curtains of light usually in colors of green and pink, as you see in the Northern Lights.
According to NOAA, showings of the celestial light show appeared over parts of the Arctic region, including northern Canada.
Another type of solar storm is solar flares. "A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation, or light, on the Sun," .
"Solar flares are a sudden explosion of energy caused by tangling, crossing or reorganizing of magnetic field lines near sunspots."
A huge sunspot was discovered last week on June 20.
"Today, it's enormous. The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours," reported.
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"The explosive heat of a solar flare can't make it all the way to our globe, but electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles certainly can," NASA explained.
"Solar flares can temporarily alter the upper atmosphere creating disruptions with signal transmission from, say, a GPS satellite to Earth causing it to be off by many yards."