Solar storm brings dazzling Aurora and threatens power grids

(Bloomberg) — A strong solar storm this weekend brought a dazzling display of the aurora borealis that could be seen across Europe and as far south as Alabama, while threatening to trigger blackouts and disrupt power systems. navigation around the world.

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An extreme geomagnetic storm is underway as energy from the Sun collides with Earth’s magnetic field, the US Space Weather Prediction Center said. The threshold for the G5 storm, the highest on the center’s five-level scale, was reached at 6:54 p.m. New York time.

The last time a storm this strong hit Earth was in October 2003, which caused power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa, said the agency, which is part of the US National Weather Service. The storms emerged after five coronal mass ejections exploded from a large sunspot cluster earlier this week.

Having so many of these bursts of energy so close together is very rare, said Michael Wiltberger, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Five is amazing. I’m just stunned.

Wiltberger said scientists were unsure what would happen with coronal mass ejections getting so close and how they would interact with each other and with Earth’s magnetic field. Where the sky is clear, reports come from people all over the world who see the aurora.

In addition to the brilliant cosmic display, a G5 storm could disrupt power grids and satellites, energize oil pipelines and wreak havoc on global navigation systems. SpaceX satellites are “feeling” the solar storm, Elon Musk said in a post on X without giving further details.

U.S. space weather officials have been reaching out to grid and pipeline operators to be prepared, said Shawn Dahl, a U.S. space meteorologist. The danger is that storms can inject direct current into alternating current transmission lines, as well as send low pulses of electricity through things like train tracks and pipelines. Some GPS signals may be lost during the event.

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The storm’s true power will be known when it is about 1.6 million kilometers from Earth, where satellites are stationed to act as warning beacons. Large parts of Asia, Europe and North America will be able to see an aurora, often called the Northern Lights, at night where the sky is dark and bright enough, the UK Met Office previously said.

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Although the aurora may only be visible to the naked eye as far south as Alabama and California, cell phone cameras can often capture images farther south that people cannot see.

Additionally, transpolar flights between Europe, Asia and North America will likely be rerouted to avoid increased radiation exposure for passengers and crew.

The culprit is a cluster of sunspots visible on the right side of the solar disk, which is 16 times larger than Earth. The Sun, which goes through an 11-year cycle in which the number of spots increases and decreases, is approaching the current peak that began in December 2019.

The cluster has been spewing coronal mass ejections, or clouds of plasma, every six to 12 hours, with the last one exploding around 3 a.m. New York time, said Brent Gordon, head of Space Weather’s space services branch. . Forecast Center.

The effects of the solar storm could last from the weekend into next week.

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