A solar storm may lead to beautiful auroras in the coming week. Know the details.

Auroras are a natural phenomenon, however, they can prove to be an excellent visual treat. Here comes a lucky chance to see an aurora for real. 

What are auroras?

When charged particles crash with the gasses in the upper atmosphere of our planet, tiny flashes occur. The collection of these tiny flashes actually makes up the aurora. This week, a huge geomagnetic storm is about to happen. As per Spaceweather.com, these auroras will be caused due to particle ejections from the Sun. This happening can possibly supercharge the auroras in areas they may be visible.

As per the monitoring website of Spaceweather, our planet’s magnetic field was hit by a coronal mass ejection (CME) on May 7. However, in contradiction with the forecasts, the hit had a not-so-strong impact and it failed to create a significant storm. Nevertheless, soon after, the Sun released yet another CME towards the Earth.

What are CMEs?

CMEs are actually coronal plasma bubbles that are ejected from the Sun over multiple hours. These bubbles often take place beside solar flares.

This #NASA model shows that a coronal mass ejection could hit our planet tomorrow.
Source: NASA via Spaceweather. pic.twitter.com/xuEf9uCbNW

— IE Science (@iexpressscience) May 9, 2023

Is there anything to worry about, too?

Fortunately, the blackout was actually very short and thus, it could not lead to any significant issues. However, during the time it was active, ham radio operators and mariners could have witnessed the loss of signal, especially at frequencies under 20 MHz. Additionally, it is possible that drone operators would also have faced some difficulties with regard to connectivity issues.

However, at present, there does exist a fear of the solar storm that can hit the planet very soon. As per the coronagraph by NASA SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), a coronial mass ejection (CME) was released with the eruption. The worrisome news is that the impact can lead to a strong geomagnetic storm on May 10. The intensity of the storm is expected to lie between G2 and G3.

Storms like these can lead to extra harm. These storms have the ability to affect mobile networks, damage or destroy small satellites and more. Such storms can also create a threat to ground-based electronics by enhancing the magnetic potential to a significant amount.

How does NASA's SOHO monitor the Sun?

Launched on December 2, 1995, SOHO, which stands for Solar and Heliospheric Observatory by NASA is a satellite that is actually a joint project between European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The purpose of launching the satellite is to study the Sun, along with its atmosphere and how it impacts on the solar system. The NASA SOHO is armed with 12 scientific instruments, of which the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), and LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph) are just to name a few. SOHO is capable of capturing images of the corona of the sun, and can also measure the magnetic fields of the surface of the sun and the velocity of the star. It is also able to observe faint corona around the shining star.