The Space Weather Prediction Center of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a warning of a moderate solar storm that could hit the planet this Tuesday (23).
This means that a burst of solar material has been detected in space, where charged plasma particles are typically accompanied by magnetic fields.
When this activity is directed towards Earth, it triggers a geomagnetic storm that can affect the daily life of the population.
A “G2” storm is forecast to affect power systems and the propagation of short radio waves at high latitudes. Therefore, the phenomenon should have no impact in Brazil, which is located in the intertropical zone near the equator.
On a US Space Weather Prediction Center scale of 1 to 5, G2 is considered moderate intensity but should not be widely felt by the population.
In an interview with ItatiaiaGustavo Guerrero, a professor in UFMG's physics department, said the solar storm could impact electrical transmission systems at high latitudes if the event lasts long which he said is not the case.
However, Guerrero points out that the predicted phenomenon could cause damage to power transformers due to the interaction of currents with solar particles entering the atmosphere.
NOAA also warns that satellites in Earth orbit could be affected by impacts from particles from the sun, requiring “corrective measures” from the companies that operate the device to prevent damage.
“For example, in the middle of a very strong current, a boat must correct its navigation direction to avoid deviating from course. So the same thing can happen with solar storms related to satellites,” explained Gustavo Guerrero.
“Corrective measures are needed to change the orientation and prevent the satellites from being affected by friction with these particles (from the sun),” he added.
Northern lights
Pink Northern Lights in Norway after a solar storm
Reproduction/Greenlander Tromsø
The not unprecedented event can also trigger auroras in unusual locations with latitudes of up to 45 degrees. This means the glowing phenomenon can be observed at relatively low latitudes such as Alabama and Northern California in the United States.
The Aurora Borealis are formed by the interaction between charged particles from the solar wind and gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
Normally, the Earth's magnetic field directs particles toward the Earth's poles, so the phenomena can only be observed in regions of Scandinavia, Canada, Iceland, Russia and the Arctic Circle.
However, depending on its intensity, the solar storm can change the Earth's magnetic field, allowing northern lights to appear in unusual places.
The storm hasn't started yet
The North American agency NOAA detected last Saturday (20) the release of particles from the Sun that could affect the Earth's magnetic field in the coming hours.
Unlike light, which reaches Earth in around eight minutes, the energy released by the Sun takes between 30 and 72 hours with the first impacts expected between yesterday (22) and today (23).
However, NOAA has not yet issued any reports confirming the solar storm's arrival in Earth's magnetic field.
According to Professor Gustavo Guerrero, the solar flare may not have been heading straight for Earth.
Solar maximum
In 2024, the solar cycle reaches its maximum and is responsible for the increase in solar storms, which can release large amounts of energy and charged particles into space.
The last solar cycle began in 2019 and is expected to peak in July 2024.
During this cycle, solar activity waxes and wanes, and its peak is called a “solar maximum.”
The solar magnetic cycle lasts about 11 years and is responsible for the occurrence of solar storms. It works autonomously, without influence from the earth.
The current solar cycle forecast has fluctuations and uncertainties.
Scientists originally expected the phenomenon to peak in mid2025.
However, according to Gustavo Guerrero, the sun began to show more spots than expected and the cycle began to develop quickly. Therefore, the estimate was changed to reach its maximum in July 2024.
Unlike weather forecasts, solar forecasts are more difficult to identify. According to the UFMG professor, the challenge arises from the lack of direct observations of the magnetic field inside the Sun.
What is a solar storm?
A solar storm occurs when the Sun emits a large amount of particles that disrupt the Earth's magnetic field and can have a range of effects on the Earth's atmosphere.
The release of energy from the Sun is often associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Flares are explosions that occur on the Sun's surface and release energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, Xrays and ultraviolet radiation. These phenomena occur due to the intense magnetic activity on the surface of the Sun.
Coronal mass ejection involves a large release of solar material, with charged plasma particles usually accompanied by magnetic fields.
When directed toward Earth, this activity triggers a geomagnetic storm on the planet that can cause significant damage to Earth.
The strongest solar storm ever recorded was known as the Carrington Event and occurred in September 1859.
It was named after English astronomer Richard Carrington, who cataloged the phenomenon and was the first scientist to link this geomagnetic storm to a solar storm.
According to Professor Gustavo Guerrero, the Carrington event affected communications networks and electrical transmission systems at high altitudes (such as the United States and Canada).
The phenomenon also made it possible to observe auroras at low latitudes, near the equator, such as in Colombia and the Caribbean.
losses
Emergency management experts at the United States National Weather Service believe the first “storm” that will cost “trillions of dollars” will not come in the form of a tornado, hurricane or flood but will originate from the sun.
Gustavo Guerrero announced that a lowintensity solar event in January 2022 was enough to disable more than half of the satellites launched by Starlink, the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
“What we know is that this type of event is damaging to space weather. Millions of dollars are spent because there are many satellites orbiting the Earth and each one of them costs a lot,” he explained.
Space weather refers to the variable conditions in the nearEarth space environment, including the sun, solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere.
However, according to the UFMG physics professor, the solar storm should not be a cause for “alarm” as this phenomenon occurs regularly and usually does not cause major disturbances on Earth, such as an increase in temperature.
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