A Solar Storm hit Earth last weekend, leaving scientists confused over the reason for the impact. Here’s more about it.
Amid rising risk of solar flare eruption on the Sun, a mysterious solar storm has hit Earth around the midnight of June 25, continuing throughout the next day.
Solar storms have been a common phenomenon these past few months with the Sun being in the middle of the Solar Cycle. However, this solar storm has left scientists baffled. They could not figure out how it occurred or where it came from.
Solar storms occur due to a coronal mass ejection (CME) that are set off on the surface of the Sun. As per the K-index, which measures the magnetic field around the Earth, solar storms are divided into 5 classes from G-1 to G-5. The G-1 is the lowest impact solar G5 is given to the most severe solar storms.
June 25’s solar storm was strong enough to affect the power grid and cause the stunning sky phenomenon known as Auroras, which lasted till June 29. Experts are Spaceweather.com told the Sun, “Forecasters aren’t sure why. The prime suspect is an unexpected CME (Coronal Mass Ejections) embedded in the solar wind.” It also affected the power grid and caused minor power fluctuations.
Interestingly, this solar storm clashed with another extremely rare phenomenon where five major planets from our solar system – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn lined up to adorn the night sky.
This solar storm comes after NASA scientists revealed a risk of solar flare eruption from the Sunspot in the solar region 3038. According to NASA, Sunspots are dark areas on the solar surface which contain strong magnetic fields that are constantly shifting and can form and dissipate over periods of days or weeks. They occur when strong magnetic fields emerge through the solar surface and allow the area to cool slightly.
This sunspot has the potential to emit M-class solar flares towards Earth which can cause physical damage. It may cause blackouts, GPS problems. However, if the solar storm is big enough, it can wreak havoc on all the earth’s technological infrastructure.