A plasma emission caused by a geomagnetic storm could
interfere with radio transmissions on Earth this Monday and hinder air traffic
, according to a warning issued by space meteorologists, although the phenomenon could also offer an attractive aurora.
According to the alert issued on Saturday by the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States in Boulder, Colorado, the phenomenon does not pose a cause for concern for the health of the population.
The storm could
disrupt high-frequency radio transmissions
, such as those from aircraft attempting to communicate with distant air traffic towers.
Most commercial aircraft can use satellite transmissions as an alternative, explained Jonathan Lash, an expert at the Boulder Space Observation Center.
As a result, satellite operators could have problems monitoring their ships and electrical networks could register some “induced current” in their lines.
However, Lash stressed that it's not something they can't handle.
This is a video summary of the March 22 solar flares, coronal mass ejection (CME), and eventual CME arrival at Earth on March 24 - with resulting geomagnetic storms.
The CME progression continues at this time.
pic.twitter.com/u5FeeSMzGp
— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) March 24, 2024
“For the general public, if they have clear skies at night and are at high latitudes, this
would be a great opportunity to see the skies light up
,” Lash said.
Every 11 years, the Sun's magnetic field changes, so that its north and south poles exchange positions.
Solar activity changes during this cycle and is now close to its peak activity, called solar maximum.
At that time, geomagnetic storms - like the one happening these days -
can affect the Earth a few times a year
, Lash said.
During solar minimum a few years can pass between storms.
Last December, the largest solar flare in years affected radio communications.
What is a geomagnetic storm
A geomagnetic storm - also called a solar storm - occurs when the Earth's magnetic field is interrupted by a shock wave from a solar wind, which is an explosion that occurs on the surface of the Sun.
Geomagnetic storms are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest and 5 having the greatest potential for damage.
Level 2 or G2 storms are moderate and do not pose a danger to humans.
At its peak, a G5 storm (the strongest)
can cause the world's infrastructure to collapse
, as global power grids would go down, as would the satellites and navigation they allow us to use on Earth.
From NASA they explain that the ionosphere - the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that extends between 80 and 500 kilometers - is damaged during geomagnetic storms and this activity has an impact on terrestrial communications.
The most affected are
high frequency radio waves and GPS systems
.
Just like radio communications from commercial flights or cruise ships can have problems during absorption events at the poles caused by solar protons.