Federal forecasters have announced that Earth is likely to experience “geomagnetic disturbances” due to incoming solar storms starting from Saturday and lasting through the next week. The Space Weather Prediction Center stated that recent coronal mass ejections, which are huge bubbles of coronal plasma with intense magnetic field lines ejected from the Sun, may reach Earth as glancing blows as early as November 4. NASA describes these ejections as looking like a “huge, twisted rope” and they often occur with solar flares.
The prediction center added that the most recent coronal mass ejection from November 3 is likely to have an Earth-directed component and may reach the planet afterwards. Another solar event is expected from November 8 to 10. The center states that updated forecasts are likely as the activity makes for an interesting forecast challenge. Private website SpaceWeather.com also mentioned that a minor geomagnetic storm is possible on Saturday.
Solar storms are disturbances in the sun that can affect Earth and the rest of the solar system. They are accompanied by solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other forms of space weather such as the aurora. One impact of solar storms on Earth is an increase in sightings of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. While an aurora forecast has not been made yet, SpaceWeather.com suggests that aurora watchers should have their hopes up for potentially seeing the phenomenon on Sunday.
In a worst-case scenario, strong geomagnetic storms can interfere with the electrical grid, degrade GPS signals, increase orbital drag on satellites, and pose radiation hazards to airline crews and astronauts, according to the prediction center. However, this is not predicted in the current forecast.
Overall, the news of incoming solar storms and potential geomagnetic disturbances may result in increased sightings of the aurora borealis but could also pose risks to certain technological systems.