Science
Sun Unleashes Monster Flare As Scientists Say Earth Could Be Hit By Massive Solar Storm Tomorrow
On Tuesday, waves of superheated plasma surged across the northern hemisphere of the sun as astronomers observed a massive ‘bird wing’ explosion.
The filament of solar material was more than twice as long as the distance between Earth and the moon, measuring more than 600,000 miles (one million km).
Scientists now estimate that tomorrow, a portion of this filament outburst may strike Earth.
The full force of this explosion might cause a severe or even extraordinary geomagnetic storm, which is the highest degree on official rating systems, according to aurora chaser Jure Atanackov’s prediction in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
A pair of sweeping ‘wings’ of plasma filaments 75 times larger than Earth broke away from the sun in a stunning video captured by NASA’s solar observing satellites.
It will mostly avoid Earth because the majority of the debris was launched from the sun’s north pole.
However, experts predict that the storm’s wake will likely strike Earth with a glancing blow.
This increases the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights and increases the possibility of electrical equipment malfunction.
Strong magnetic fields suspend dense ribbons of colder solar plasma above the surface of the sun, known as solar filaments.
These magnetic fields have the potential to violently erupt and unleash the filaments when they become unstable.
Jake Foster, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: “Loops of hot plasma can sprout up from the Sun’s surface, following along its magnetic field lines, and occasionally they break free and shoot off into space at high speeds.”
This can occasionally cause a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection, which is a plasma and magnetic field wave that is sent into space.
Geomagnetic storms and increased auroral activity on Earth are caused by the arrival of these coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
This is precisely what happened on Tuesday, as astronomers saw, when two massive filaments got unstable and collapsed, causing a massive CME.
Aurora chasers gazing in awe were astounded by the magnitude of the blast as the filament eruption ripped away from the sun’s surface.
Mr Atanackov wrote in a post on X that the blast “dwarfs all the filament eruptions we have seen recently.”
Likewise, Northern Lights photographer Vincent Ledvina said, ‘Not sure what to call this eruption, maybe the “bird-wing” or “angel-wing” event? Either way, it is truly something to witness! Look at how large the blast is off the Sun’s northern hemisphere.’
In her solar forecast, space weather physicist Dr Tamitha Skov reported a “massive dual filament launch that could give Earth a glancing blow.”
A cool’scar’ is left on the sun by a filament eruption that departs the solar surface; this dark area appears in solar imaging sensors.
The remnant scars indicated that some of the eruption might be headed our way, even if it first seemed that the majority of the blast had been directed northward, away from Earth.
Dr Skov said, “You’d think this was just going northward. But, believe it or not, the scar from this thing as it lifted off the sun makes us think that maybe there’s part of this that’s Earth-directed.”
A small geomagnetic storm with lingering effects for a few days is predicted to occur tomorrow when a portion of the CME or its wake strikes Earth.
Mr Foster says, “These eruptions are huge collections of high energy solar particles, so when they hit the Earth’s atmosphere they can cause a few different effects.”
“With enough energy, they have the potential to cause a geomagnetic storm, temporarily blocking out radio communications and satellite navigation in certain areas.”
“On the more serious end of the scale, they can cause an overload to electrical infrastructure, damaging the power grid and railway lines, and potentially even sparking electrical fires.”
Furthermore, the planet’s strong magnetic fields direct charged particles from the sun towards the poles when they arrive.
The aurora is the result of these particles colliding with nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, which transfers energy into the gases and causes them to light.
Auroras are typically only visible near the magnetic poles because of how strongly the Earth’s magnetic fields shield us from these charged particles.
Dr. Skov estimates that there is a 20% possibility of a large storm, but there is little chance of any significant geomagnetic activity.
“A coronal mass ejection could possibly glance the Earth later this evening and could lead to aurora being visible in northern Scotland, though there is low confidence in this,” Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon told MailOnline.
“Should it occur, skies are relatively clear, but viewers might need to take a photo with a long exposure.”
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