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Unexpected CME cloud STRIKES Earth; Solar storm set to hit in just hours

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An unexpected CME cloud has struck the magnetosphere of the Earth in the early hours today, January 18. It is expected to spark a solar storm within the next few hours.

Yesterday, it was predicted that Earth could suffer a solar storm attack on January 19 as a result of a large coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud that was released during multiple solar flare eruptions. However, unexpectedly, a part of the CME cloud has arrived earlier than its scheduled time and has struck the magnetosphere of the Earth in the early hours today, January 18. And now, in the hours to come, a solar storm will strike the Earth. You need to know how this dangerous solar storm can impact our planet. Check details.

The report came from SpaceWeather.com which said about the new incident, “Arriving earlier than expected, a CME appears to have struck Earth’s magnetic field on Jan. 17th around 2200 UT. Its arrival was signaled by an abrupt shift in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth”. It also explained that the same IMF weakening in the southern hemisphere due to solar winds can now give right to a more powerful solar storm in hours to come.

Solar storm can hit the Earth in the next few hours

The delay between the first CME strike and the incoming solar storm is because they are separate events. The first CME cloud hit the Earth earlier than expected due to being carried by fast-moving solar winds. The same solar winds also impacted the IMF in the magnetosphere and weakened it in the southern hemisphere. Now, as more CME clouds strike the Earth soon, they will be met with less resistance and it will give rise to a stronger solar storm.

It is not possible to gauge just how strong the solar storm can be but it can disrupt GPS systems and shortwave radio frequencies. This can affect ham radio operators, drone pilots and ships and airplanes which use such wireless communication. Further, if the solar storm was more intense, it can also fluctuate power grids and impact mobile networks and even the internet. Keep an eye out as astronomers try to predict the intensity of this solar storm.

Currently, there is also a gigantic sunspot on the Earth-facing disk of the Sun. This sunspot has been named AR3190 and it is so large that it can be seen with unaided eyes. Having said that, never-ever look at the Sun directly with your naked eyes as it is extremely harmful. This was one of the biggest sunspots to be seen on the Sun in recent years. If you want to see it, make sure to use safe solar glasses to protect your eyes. Looking at the Sun without protection can damage your eyes and can even blind you.


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Huge solar flare erupts on the sun from ‘hyperactive’ sunspot

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A massive explosion on the sun unleashed a powerful solar flare from a new sunspot on Monday (Jan. 9), one that is slowly turning to face the Earth. 

The solar flare erupted at 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT)  as a X1.9-class sun storm that caused a temporary, but strong, radio blackout across parts of South America, Central America and the Pacific  Ocean, according to a statement (opens in new tab) from the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. X-class flares are the strongest types of storms from the sun. Monday’s flare came from the same sunspot that fired off an X1.2-class solar flare on Jan. 5, NOAA reported. 

“The source is hyperactive sunspot AR3184,” astronomer Tony Phillips of the space weather website SpaceWeather.com wrote in an update (opens in new tab). “None of the debris plumes will hit Earth; the sunspot is not facing our planet. It will turn in our direction later this week.”

Related: The sun’s wrath: Here’s the worst solar storms in history

A powerful X1.9-class solar flare erupts from the sun in this full image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on Jan. 9, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/SDO)

NASA captured stunning images and video of the solar flare (opens in new tab) with its Solar Dynamics Observatory, a space-based telescope that continually watches the sun in different wavelengths. 

Solar flares are intense eruptions from the surface of the sun that explode at a variety of power levels. The weakest flares, classified as A-, B- or C-type storms, are typically minor. The stronger M-class flares can fling charged particles at Earth that supercharge our planet’s auroras, amplifying displays of northern lights and southern lights. 

Related: Extreme solar storms can strike out of the blue. Are we prepared?

This graphic from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center shows X1.9 solar flare of Jan. 9, 2023, its sunspot AR3184 origin and the site of a radio blackout on Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. (Image credit: NOAA/SWPC)

When aimed directly at Earth, X-class solar flares “can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts,” NASA said in a statement (opens in new tab).

The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year weather solar cycle. The current phase is known as Solar Cycle 25, which is expected to peak in 2025. 

NASA tracks solar flares and other space weather events by watching the sun with a variety of spacecraft. In addition to the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory or SOHO (a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency) also regularly watches for space weather events. 

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).



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Previously hidden sunspot unleashes colossal X-class solar flare

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A newly emerged sunspot is making its presence known, unleashing a powerful X-class solar flare that triggered shortwave radio blackouts across the South Pacific. 

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a massive solar flare on Thursday (Jan 5) at 7:45 p.m. EST (0045 GMT on Jan. 6). The outburst blasted out a glowing-hot plasma dome that lingered above the sunspot AR3182 for over an hour, according to Spaceweather.com (opens in new tab). Because of the sun‘s rotation, the lively sunspot will soon face Earth and could continue its explosive activity in the days ahead. 

Solar flares are categorized by size into lettered groups, with X-class being the most powerful. Within each class, numbers from 1 to 10 (and beyond, for X-class flares) denote a flare’s relative strength. The recent flare clocked in at X1.2, a relatively weak example of the most powerful class.

AR3182 has also been linked to the violent eruption on Tuesday (Jan. 3) that sent a coronal mass ejection (CME), a giant cloud of magnetized plasma, barrelling off into space. At the time, the sunspot was hidden on the far side of the sun and so the eruption posed no danger to Earth. 

Related: A giant plasma cloud bursts from the sun, but fortunately it won’t hit Earth

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the X1.2 solar flare on Jan. 5, 2023, at 7:45 p.m. EST (0045 GMT on Jan. 6). (Image credit: NASA/SDO/Helioviewer.org)

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 Solar flares are caused when magnetic energy builds up in the solar atmosphere and is released in an intense burst of electromagnetic radiation. More powerful, M-class and X-class flares can cause minor to extensive radio blackouts on the side of Earth facing the sun at the time of the eruption. 

This is exactly what happened when the recent X1.2 class solar flare sent a strong pulse of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation toward Earth. Traveling at the speed of light, the radiation reached Earth in just over eight minutes and ionized the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere — the thermosphere — triggering a shortwave radio blackout across the South Pacific. 

Shortwave radio blackouts were recorded over the South Pacific after the X-class solar flare eruption on Jan. 5, 2023.  (Image credit: NOAA/SWPC)

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According to Spaceweather.com, so far, no CME has been observed emerging from the area after the massive flare.

Solar activity is on the rise as part of solar cycle 25, which scientists predict will peak in 2025. To find out if there is a solar flare today and to keep up with the latest space weather findings, visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (opens in new tab) to see the most recent solar X-ray data from the agency’s GOES weather satellites that perch over the eastern and western U.S. 

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Massive, hidden sunspot blasts out enormous X-class flare — and Earth could soon be in the firing line

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An artist’s interpretation of a solar flare erupting from the sun. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

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A massive explosion on the far side of the sun recently spat out an X-class flare — one of the most powerful solar flares the sun is capable of producing. The resulting solar storm will narrowly miss Earth, but the sunspot responsible for belching it out could soon be pointed directly at our planet. 

The epic eruption was detected on Jan. 3 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), an Earth-orbiting spacecraft co-operated by NASA and the European Space Agency. SOHO spotted a bright stream of plasma, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), that emerged from the sun’s southeastern limb, according to Spaceweather.com (opens in new tab).

The CME was likely given off by a hidden far-side flare and registered as a C-class event, the third highest class of solar flares. (Solar flare classes include A, B, C, M and X, with each class being at least 10 times more powerful than the previous one.) But based on the size and strength of the visible CME, experts believe the hidden outburst that birthed it was probably large enough to be designated as an X-class flare. 

The most powerful X-class flares can erupt from the sun with an equivalent force of around a billion hydrogen bombs, according to NASA. If one of these flares hit Earth head on it could trigger widespread radio and electricity blackouts on the side of the planet facing the sun and cause damage to satellites in orbit around Earth. The resulting auroras would be so strong they could even give nearby airplane passengers small doses of radiation, according to NASA (opens in new tab). 

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) modeled the solar storm given off by the most recent X-class flare and found that it would narrowly miss Earth over the next few days, according to Spaceweather.com. However, that doesn’t mean we will stay in the clear for long.

Related: 10 solar storms that blew us away in 2022

Footage of a powerful X-class flare captured on Aug. 9, 2011  by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite. (Image credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory)

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Astronomers believe the enormous flare was emitted from a sunspot — dark, planet-sized regions that form in the sun’s lower atmosphere as the result of magnetic disturbances — known as AR3163, which rotated onto the far side of the sun around two weeks ago after spitting out a flurry of mild CMEs on the sun’s near side. Based on the potential power of the hidden flare, experts think the sunspot has grown significantly in size since it disappeared from view, Spaceweather.com reported.

When the recent flare erupted, AR3163 was predicted to reemerge onto the near side of the sun within two days based on acoustic images, known as helioseismic echoes, which can detect abnormalities on the hidden surface of the sun. On Jan. 5, the closest edge of AR3163 began to appear on the solar horizon as expected, according to Spaceweather.com (opens in new tab). It will soon be pointed directly at Earth and has the capacity to spit out more X-class flares, but the chances of a direct hit are relatively low. 

Earth is currently at perihelion, meaning that our planet is at its closest point to the sun. On Jan. 4, another CME given off by an M-class flare, which was capable of causing minor radio blackouts, bashed into Earth right as the planet moved into its closest possible proximity to the sun. 

Solar activity will continue to ramp up as we approach the peak of the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, which will occur in 2025. During December 2022 there were 24 active sunspots on the sun, the highest number for more than seven years, according to Spaceweather.com (opens in new tab). 

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Fast-growing sunspot may threaten Earth with flares and eruptions

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A once-tiny spot on the sun’s surface grew over the weekend to the size of Earth, potentially threatening our planet with radio blackout-causing solar flares and plasma eruptions that could trigger aurora displays.

The sun has been lively in the past few weeks, treating skywatchers at high latitudes and astronauts onboard the International Space Station to beautiful aurora displays. There may be more of those storms to come, as the sunspot AR3085 keeps growing and rotating toward Earth.

The sunspot is one of six active regions currently observable on the disk of the sun, but space weather forecasters are not too worried about it, predicting low activity for the next 24 hours with occasional mild solar flares that could possibly cause short-duration radio blackouts, according to U.K. space weather forecaster Met Office (opens in new tab). 

Related: Storm-boosted auroras dazzle skywatchers around the world (photos)

Met Office expects the low solar activity to continue in the next four days, with a small chance of an increase to moderate levels. A small coronal hole, an opening in the magnetic field lines in the sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona, may increase the flow of solar wind toward Earth, possibly leading to turbulent geomagnetic conditions, which might make auroras visible farther away from the poles.

Of course, the sunspot AR3085, which has, according to spaceweather.com, increased in size tenfold in the past two days, might fire a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a burst of charged particles — at Earth, triggering a geomagnetic storm later in the week. Currently, however, no such CME is heading our direction. 

Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. 



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Solar storm warning: Air traffic facing disruption as huge sunspot turns to face Earth | Science | News

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Experts have warned that a massive solar spot on the far side of the Sun is facing us this weekend, which could result in a potential geomagnetic storm that disrupts satellites, and even causes chaos in airline navigation systems. These sunspots as they are known, appear darker than their surrounding on the surface of the Sun, and can stretch for hundreds of millions of miles.

Sunspots are a result of magnetic disruptions in the photosphere — the lowest layer of the sun’s atmosphere — with these disturbances exposing the cooler layers of the star underneath.

According to experts at Spaceweather.com, the sunspot is “so big it is changing the way the sun vibrates.”

If the Sun’s darkened region lashes out by releasing a solar flare towards Earth, it could affect the Earth’s magnetic field, and cause disruptions in GPS and communication satellites that orbit close to the planet, as well as affect airplane navigation systems.

The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center predicted that over the weekend, the geomagnetic field around Earth would be unsettled.

This prediction suggests that regions in the higher northern latitudes could see dazzling auroras, although it is unclear whether it will turn into a full-blown solar storm. 

While the current sunspot was on the far side of the Sun, scientists were able to track it by studying how to affected the Star’s vibrations

Speaking to Live Science, Dean Pesnell, project scientist of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) said: “The Sun continually vibrates because of convection bubbles hitting the surface.”

The temperature differences inside the Sun cause hot and cool bubbles to continually rise and fall, which moves energy and causes vibrations that can be detected by solar observatories like NASA’s SDO. 

READ MORE: Solar storm horror: Blast from Sun threatens power grid failure

Solar flares are triggered by a process called “magnetic reconnection”, in which the geometry of the magnetic field in the Sun’s plasma is altered.

These flares could affect the earth by heating up clouds of electrically charged particles in the upper atmosphere of the Sun to extremely high temperatures, unleashing a mass of plasma coronal mass ejections (CMEs),

Mr Pesnell noted it is likely that the Earth sees solar flares heading towards it, and there could be some CMEs.

The NASA expert noted: “Solar flares and CMEs are the major way solar activity affects the Earth.

“From my work, higher levels of solar activity mean increased drag on satellites orbiting close to the Earth — and satellite operators will lose income if that drag de-orbits a working satellite.”



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Huge, potentially disruptive sunspot will swing round to face Earth this weekend

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A huge sunspot on the far side of the sun is set to face Earth this weekend, potentially lashing our planet with a geomagnetic storm. 

The spot is so big it’s changing the way the sun vibrates, according to spaceweather.com. If the dark spot hurls a blob of plasma at Earth, it could disrupt our magnetic field, affecting GPS and communication satellites orbiting close to Earth as well as airplane navigation systems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued a forecast for an unsettled geomagnetic field around Earth on Aug. 6 and 7, which could means auroras, though whether it becomes a full-blown solar storm is not yet clear.

Sunspots are dark patches on the surface of the sun that are caused by intense magnetic fields. While this sunspot is on the far side of the sun, scientists detected it by monitoring its effects on the sun’s vibrations.

“The Sun continually vibrates because of convection bubbles hitting the surface,”Dean Pesnell, project scientist of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), told Live Science in an email. Hot and cool bubbles that continually rise and fall inside the sun move energy around, causing vibration that can be detected by solar observatories like the SDO. The sunspot’s strong magnetic field slows these vibrations, which travel through the sun. As a result, observatories like the SDO can monitor sunspots on our host star’s far side by the delay in these vibrational waves, despite only being able to see its near side, Pesnell added. 

“The larger the sunspot and the stronger the magnetic field the larger this delay will be,” Pesnell said. 

The telltale vibrational changes showed up in a helioseismic map near the sun’s southeastern limb.

This weekend the sunspot will turn to face Earth, which could potentially lead to solar flares — an intense burst of radiation in the sun’s atmosphere. 

“We will probably see flares when the sunspot rotates into view,” Pesnell said. 

This solar activity could impact Earth. Solar flares can heat clouds of electrically charged particles from the sun’s upper atmosphere to enormous temperatures, which can launch gigantic blobs of plasma at Earth known as, coronal mass ejections (CMEs). “There is a filament heading in the direction of the sunspot and so there might be some coronal mass ejections,” Pesnell added.

“Solar flares and CMEs are the major way solar activity affects the Earth,” said Pesnell. “From my work, higher levels of solar activity mean increased drag on satellites orbiting close to the Earth — and satellite operators will lose income if that drag de-orbits a working satellite.” Other possible effects of more severe “space weather” include the disruption of communications and navigation in the polar regions — often used by intercontinental plane flights — and even power outages on Earth. 

The sun has an 11 year cycle during which its activity waxes and wanes, with a distinct “solar maximum” and “solar minimum” when the number of sunspots are most and least numerous, respectively. The sun is now headed for a solar maximum in 2024 or 2025. Lately, the sun has been more active than NASA predicted. CMEs are normal behavior for sunspots at this point of the sunspot cycle, Pesnell said. 

Originally published on Live Science.

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Solar storm HITTING Earth tomorrow; Radio Blackouts expected in many regions

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A solar storm is expected to hit the magnetic fields of Earth tomorrow, August 3. High-speed solar winds moving towards the Earth are responsible for the incoming storm. Aurora display and radio blackouts are expected.

Last week witnessed very low solar activity but it seems that the Sun is now finally gearing up. Earlier, it was reported that a new sunspot emerged on the Earth facing a solar disk which was behaving erratically. In just 24 hours after coming into the Earth’s view, the sunspot tripled in its size. And now it appears that a solar storm will strike our planet tomorrow, August 3. This particular solar storm event is not related to the sunspot, which still continues to grow. High-speed solar winds which escaped from the atmosphere of the Sun are responsible for this incoming storm. Read on to find out just how dangerous it can be.

It was first reported by SpaceWeather.com which noted on its website, “NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms on Aug. 3rd when a high-speed stream of solar wind is expected to graze Earth’s magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a southern hole in the sun’s atmosphere”. The website has also added an image of the exact zone from where the solar winds were released into space and towards the Earth. You can check it out here.

Solar storm to strike Earth tomorrow

As the predicted solar storm is of G1 class, which is classified as minor, the storm is not likely to cause much trouble for us. However, it will cause aurora display in the higher latitudes. Aurora displays are the beautiful curtain-like light patterns in the sky that happen as a result of refraction of light as the solar radiation hits the atmosphere at odd angles. Alongside, there is a minor probability of shortwave radio blackouts, which can affect ham radio operators and some navigation systems on the dayside of the Earth.

Solar storms are divided into five classes ranging from G1 to G5. While G1 is the most minor type of solar storm that can hit the planet, a G5 is the most severe. A good example of a G5 solar storm is the Carrington Event that took place in 1859 and destroyed telegraph systems and caused power grid failures.

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A solar storm hit Earth at over a million miles an hour

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A G1-class geomagnetic storm hit the Earth last Saturday, causing bright auroras over Canada, Newsweek reported. The only problem is that nobody saw this storm coming until it was quite late. 

Solar scientists have been watching the skies with anticipation of solar activity after a sunspot grew enormously earlier last week, and then a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) was spotted on the solar surface. A big solar storm was expected due to the latter, but scientists were not very sure if it was heading towards the Earth. 

After a long two-day wait, no worrisome geomagnetic activity was noticed, and solar scientists may have breathed a sigh of relief. But the recent report showed that even after watching the solar surface so closely, our Sun is full of surprises and, from time to time, throws us a curve ball.

How bad was the geomagnetic storm? 

According to the Newsweek report, the geomagnetic storm was predicted by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on the evening of June 25. The space weather prediction agency also said that the storm would last through the night and into the morning. 

The SWPC predicted the geomagnetic storm to be of G1-class, the lowest classification in terms of power and impact of the storm. A G5-class is the highest classification of a geomagnetic storm that we have so far. 

A G1-class geomagnetic storm carries risks such as an impact on satellite operations and power grid fluctuations. However, due to the relatively weaker intensity of the storm, the impact of the risks is also lower. Energy transfers during such events also produce some beautiful auroras that are visible in the night sky, and astronomers told Newsweek that they observed auroras in Calgary, Alberta. 

What caused the geomagnetic storm?

Even as the geomagnetic storm made little difference other than the shimmering natural lights, it also set astronomers looking through their data for what could possibly explain how they missed spotting such an event earlier.

At first, the scientists were looking for occurrences of CMEs that may have gone unnoticed. However, further analyses showed that the geomagnetic storm was caused by a rare and harder-to-spot phenomenon called the co-rotating interaction region (CIR) of the Sun. 

According to Spaceweather.com, a CIR is a transition zone between the slow and fast-moving streams of solar wind. These zones can also cause build-ups of plasma which have intensities of a CME, but they are not accompanied by the formation of a sunspot. Since space weather predictions largely look at sunspots, this geomagnetic storm was missed until late and hit the Earth at 1.57 million miles (2.52 million km) per hour. This is more or less in the region of how CIRs hit, Live Science said in its report. 

The incident reinforces the need to keep looking at our Sun using a variety of techniques, especially when it is going through an active phase of its solar cycle, as a Carrington-like event could be really devastating today. 

 

 



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Giant Sunspot AR3038 has Doubled in Size and is Pointed Right at Earth. Could be Auroras Coming

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Sunspots are typically no real reason to worry, even if they double in size overnight and grow to twice the size of the Earth itself. That’s just what happened with Active Region 3038 (AR3038), a sunspot that happens to be facing Earth and could produce some minor solar flares. While there’s no cause for concern, that does mean a potentially exciting event could happen – spectacular auroras.

Although scientists consistently point out that people are in no danger from sunspots like AR3038, that doesn’t stop the popular media from worrying about them, especially ones that seem to grow quickly. But this is all par for the course, according to Rob Steenburgh, the head of the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Forecast Office. 

He points out that this type of rapid growth is exactly what we expect to see at this point in the solar cycle, the 11-year repeating pattern that started again in 2019. He also points out that sunspots of this kind don’t typically produce the types of dangerous solar flares that could knock out satellites or disrupt power grids. It simply lacks the complexity.

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UT video describing when we should be worried about solar flares.

Solar flares occur when the magnetic fields surrounding a sunspot break and rejoin in complex patterns, some of which cause flairs to be ejected out into the solar system. If these hit the Earth, they could potentially cause damage to some infrastructure, especially those reliant on electricity. However, they are much more likely to create spectacular auroras when their ions hit Earth’s own magnetic field.

They are rated in severity, scaling from B (the weakest) to C, M, and X (the strongest). X flares have their own grading system, and the most powerful solar flares, X20, happen less than once per 11-year solar cycle and typically do not face Earth.

The likelihood of an X20 forming due to AR3038 is minuscule, though there was a 10% chance of it creating a less powerful X flare. More likely are M flares, which AR3038 has a 25% chance of developing before it dies down in size and scale, as sunspots typically do. 

UT video on the most violent solar storm in history – The Carrington Event.

However, it doesn’t look like any of those flares will be directed at Earth, as AR3038 has rotated back out of view and is no longer facing us. There is another active region, AR3040, which had 6 C-class flares in the last 24 hours. So there might still be a chance of some spectacular auroras if the planet happens to be in the path of one of those C-class flares.  

If not, the whole episode with the rapid growth of AR3038 will prove another example of the public being generally concerned about what appears to be a threatening turn of events, but which is quite common and even innocuous. With all the equipment currently set up to monitor the Sun, the general public can rest assured that we’ll have at least some warning before any potentially damaging flare affects our Earth-bound systems. But it might be a while before that happens, so don’t hold your breath.

Learn More:
USA Today – ‘No need to panic’ as sunspot with potential for solar flares doubles in size overnight, scientists say
Space.com – A giant sunspot the size of 3 Earths is facing us right now
Earthsky.org – Sun activity: Minor geomagnetic storm
UT – Astronomy Jargon 101: Sunspots
UT – A Colossal Flare Erupted From the Far Side of the Sun

Lead Image:
Composite image of the Sun’s surface on 6/21/22. AR3038 can be seen in the upper right.
Credit – NOAA’s Space Weather Forecast Office

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