Scientists are expecting a major solar storm to hit the Earth on April 14. This event could cause possible damage to Earth, researchers suggest. Space agencies say that this geomagnetic solar storm could be particularly powerful as the Sun has been quite active lately. Recently, the Sun has been flaring up more. This is because it is approaching its Solar Maxima in its 11-year solar cycle. Solar maxima is the time of greatest activity during the solar cycle. As a result, the Sun has been flaring up with Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) more frequently in the past few months.
Most of these solar flares did not reach Earth but a few of them did erupt in our planet’s direction. This has been causing a few geomagnetic storms already.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been actively monitoring the Sun’s frequent CME flares. They have forecast that the most impactful storm will affect Earth on April 14. This time, the solar flares will have an extremely rapid wind stream. Hence, NASA has predicted that there are high chances that the storm will intensify after striking the Earth.
In a tweet, the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) wrote, “Our model fit indicates a very high probability of Earth impact on April 14, 2022, with speeds ranging between 429 to 575 kilometres per second. Low to Moderate geomagnetic perturbations are expected.”
It added, “Currently, solar wind and near-Earth space environmental conditions are returning to nominal levels.”
//CESSI SPACE WEATHER BULLETIN//11 April 2022//SUMMARY: QUIET TO MODERATE SPACE WEATHER CONDITIONS// A halo CME was detected by SOHO LASCO on 11 April. Our model fit indicates a very high probability of Earth impact on 14 April, 2022 with speeds ranging between 429-575 km/s + pic.twitter.com/MRFNuLI2hS
— Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (@cessi_iiserkol) April 11, 2022
Regular bursts are caused by magnetic activity on the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. Plasma and magnetic fields are ejected into space as a result of this. A geomagnetic storm occurs when a CME collides with the Earth’s magnetic field.
This solar storm might disrupt Earth’s electricity grids and other resources. Higher latitudes are predicted to be impacted more than lower latitudes. Power outages and radio signal disruption are also possible in mid-latitude areas.