Earth gets hit by shocking 'severe' G4 geomagnetic storm. Was our planet prepared?
Representational image of solar flares.
Earth was hit by a "severe" G4-scale geomagnetic storm after multiple powerful solar eruptions, confirmed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The storms later subsided but resulted in brightauroraswhich filled the night skies in the United States and Canada.
G4-scale storms carry the chances of badly impacting the satellites, power grids and radio communication systems, stated NOAA. Generally, such impacts are mitigable because of advanced warning.
Were scientists prepared for G4 geomagnetic storm?
"Potential impacts of this level of storming include degradation of high-frequency communications at high latitudes and increased drag on satellites in low earth orbit," read aNOAA advisory which was released on Monday (Aug12).
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"A further increase in space weather activity is not anticipated at this time," it added. The G4-class storm conditions were first recorded on Monday (Aug12) around 11 am EDT.
NOAA space weather forecasters continue monitoring around five CMEs that erupted from the Sun last week and checking if they are headed towards Earth.
“Some seem to have missed Earth, some clipped Earth, and then eventually one of those we were anticipating was much more of a good punch,” said Shawn Dahl, service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Centre, while speaking to Gizmodo.
Space weather forecasters accepted that such events are difficult to predict.
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“We never know what’s actually going to be, what the CME is composed of, and what to make of it until it gets just 1 million miles from Earth, where it’s only 15 to 45 minutes away. That’s when we can see what the CME is composed of. How strong is it magnetically? What’s the speed of its movement? Is it going to connect with Earth?” said Dahl.
He added that all the information regarding the latest CME to hit Earth came together on Sunday night (August 11) and that's when they predicted that Earth will be hit by a severe solar storm.
(With inputs from agencies)