According to a new space weather forecast, a weak solar storm could hit Earth on Saturday, May 7th, potentially leading to minor radio blackouts.
The sun is currently crackling with powerful solar flares, which are often accompanied by giant explosions of plasma known as coronal mass ejections. Magnetic storms that can knock out power grids and damage satellites are caused by the temporary compression of our planet's magnetic shield.
The majority of storms are mild. The 1859 Carrington event, which caused strong electrical currents that burst into flame, is one of the more devastating storms that the largest CMEs can cause. Live Science previously reported that some scientists warned that another solar storm of that magnitude could cause the internet to go down for weeks or months.
There is a small chance that a small CME could cause a G1 class storm on Saturday, according to the latest report from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. When a G1 storm hits, weak power grid fluctuations can occur, and the Aurora can be seen at lower latitudes. After they leave the sun, they take up to 18 hours to reach Earth.
The sun has been belching out CMEs at a faster-than-usual rate for several months now, including a huge cannibal that smashed into Earth in late March. This type of solar activity is typical as the sun approaches a period called solar maximum, the point of greatest activity in the sun's 11-year cycle. The next solar maximum is predicted to occur sometime between November 2024 and March 2026, with lots of solar weather heading our way in the meantime.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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