Geomagnetic storm: Researchers have revealed that the Sun has once again ejected fresh solar eruptions towards Earth a week after the planet was hit by a similar moderate geomagnetic storm. And it is expected that the impact will not be hazardous.
Basically, solar storms are magnetic plasma that is ejected at great speed from the solar surface. At the time of releasing magnetic energy, they occur and are associated with sunspots, and can last for a few minutes or hours.
As per tweets by the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences (CESS), on 6 February, a filament eruption was observed on the Sun's south disk center. It is also said that the eruption was recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission’s Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO).
In 1995, SOHO, the joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency was launched to study the Sun and to identify coronal mass ejections (CMEs) routinely. Space Weather Prediction Center which is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that CMEs to Earth can reach Earth in a mere 15-18 hours if they are fast enough.
Further, CESS said that the Earth will be impacted by moderate geomagnetic storms in the range of 451-615 km per second from 9 February to 10 February. The CESS tweeted that "The impact is unlikely to be very hazardous. Moderate geomagnetic storms are likely". It is also said that the solar storm could also touch off geomagnetic activity that could make the Northern Lights visible.
Couple of solar active regions are being flagged by the CESSI algorithm to be potentially flare productive. Chances of M/X class flares to persist. Current space environmental condition is nominal.
— Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (@cessi_iiserkol) February 7, 2022
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Our DBM model fit indicates very high probability of Earth impact with modern speed in the range 451-615 km/s with arrival time uncertainty ranging from 9 FEB 05:48 UT to 10 FEB 09:53 UT. The impact is unlikely to be very hazardous. Moderate geomagnetic storms are likely. pic.twitter.com/NxtN0ZpCja
— Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (@cessi_iiserkol) February 7, 2022
//CESSI SPACE WEATHER BULLETIN//07 FEB 2022//SUMMARY: NOMINAL SPACE WEATHER// A filament eruption was observed on the Sun south of disk center on 06 FEB. SOHO LASCO detected a partial halo CME being launched soon thereafter.
— Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (@cessi_iiserkol) February 7, 2022
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About Geomagnetic Storm
It is a major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere. It occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding the Earth. Variations that occur in the solar wind cause these storms and produce major changes in the currents, plasma, and fields in Earth's magnetosphere.
Solar wind conditions that are effective for creating geomagnetic storms are as follows:
Sustained (for various to many hours periods) of high-speed solar wind.
A southward directed solar wind magnetic field at the dayside of the magnetosphere.
This type of condition is effective for transferring energy from the solar wind into Earth's magnetosphere. These storms are also triggered by powerful blasts of radiation known as solar flares that can disrupt some high-frequency radio broadcasts and low-frequency navigation.
From these conditions, the largest storms occur and are associated with solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) where a billion tons or so of plasma from the sun with its embedded magnetic field arrives at Earth. Another solar wind disturbance that generates conditions favourable to geomagnetic storms is the high-speed solar wind stream (HSS). The CESS predicted flares of M/X class in the coming days.
Some of the effects that occur due to geomagnetic storms are disruption of electrical systems, communication also affected, navigation system, satellite hardware damage, pipelines, radiations are also hazardous to humans, etc.
How is a geomagnetic storm caused?
On 1 September, Carrington Event which was named after the British astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington witnessed the beginning of a storm.
He observed a cluster of large sunspots by using his solar telescope and noticed two dots within the dark patches brightening and fading over a number of minutes. After a few days, he and his assistant discovered magnetometer data.
He said that the brightening that he saw was a white light flare and was caused due to reconfiguration in the Sun's magnetic fields, releasing large amounts of plasma and radiation in stages.
The first was that there was a flash of electromagnetic radiation which barely takes a few minutes to strike the Earth. And next, protons and electrons were accelerated close to the speed of light in jets of plasma that were lasting anywhere from a few hours to a day or two.
He explained that during intense periods of solar activity there are twists and turns in the Sun's magnetic field snapping and reconnecting. This can expel a slow-moving cloud of charged particles in the final stage of a solar storm and is known as a coronal mass ejection.
Know about the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)
CMEs are a large eruption of plasma and magnetic field from the corona of the Sun.
Capable of ejecting around billions of tons of coronal material as they travel outward from the Sun.
The speed of CMEs at which they travel ranges from slower than 250 km/s up to nearly 3000 km/s.
CMEs typically take several days to arrive on Earth. It has been observed that some of the most intense storms arrive in as short as 18 hours.
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