The Sun is just getting started.
Blacked Out
A huge solar flare caused a radio blackout on Earth yesterday, according to Spaceweather.com.
The event, which saw a huge amount of electromagnetic radiation being slung our way by the Sun, clocked in as a powerful X-level solar flare and was deemed by experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to be the second-strongest of the year so far. The radio blackouts occurred over Hawaii and other areas of the Pacific.
Communications were only briefly lost, but the powerful event serves as a potent reminder of the cosmic forces that can have a direct influence on life on our home planet.
An X7.1 (R3) solar flare erupted from Region 3842 this evening - as seen in this animation (courtesy of jhelioviewer). This was the second strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25, only bested by an X8.7 flare on May 14th of this year. See https://t.co/MiukLmxbua for full story. pic.twitter.com/Qohhyk17DW
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) October 2, 2024
Aurora Watch
And the drama might not be over yet. According to the NOAA, the sunspot explosion appears to have caused a coronal mass ejection — which in short, means that the Sun just spit up a wad of solar plasma.
That plasma now seems to be heading in our direction and is due to collide with our atmosphere on October 5. NOAA has since issued a "minor-strong" geomagnetic storm warning as a result.
The concept of solar plasma hurtling toward our planet might sound scary, but you probably have nothing to worry about. According to NOAA, some "technological infrastructure" could experience some "limited, minor effects," though those should remain "mainly mitigable."
And beyond some (hopefully) minor technological difficulties, there could be a huge plus to the geomagnetic event: auroras!
Back in May, when a similar X-level plasma plume hit our planet's atmosphere, keen-eyed observers across the globe — including across the US, as far south as Florida — were privy to incredible views of the Northern Lights, which are usually only visible in a few, far-north regions of the word.
NOAA says that if there are auroras this week, they'll likely be visible "over many of the northern states and some of the lower Midwest and Oregon."
We'd recommend keeping up with NOAA updates this week, lest you miss a dazzling cosmic light show.
More on the Sun and radio signals: NASA Investigating Mysterious Radio Signals From the Sun
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