A huge 500,000 mile hole in the sun is set to blast Earth with geomagnetic storms that will hit this week.
The hole measures over 62 times the diameter of Earth and is shooting high-speed solar wind towards our planet sparking solar activity which can potentially disrupt satellite operations, power grids, navigation systems, and radio communications.
There may also be spectacular displays of aurora caused as the Earth’s magnetosphere is disturbed by the solar wind. According to the Mirror, this wind is estimated to hit Earth by Friday, January 31, resulting in G1 geomagnetic storm conditions.
While G1 storms are considered the mildest category, they can still have noticeable effects, particularly in terms of aurora visibility at higher latitudes.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft picked up on the activity and its mission is to study the Sun’s dynamics to “increase understanding of the nature and sources of solar variability”. The coronal hole are regions where the Sun’s magnetic field lines open out into space, allowing solar wind to escape more easily.
They appear ominously dark when viewed in ultraviolet as they are cooler and less dense than the surrounding corona, and the open magnetic field structure results in less UV emission.
At the end of last year, a massive solar storm knocked out radio communications that was expected to have affected millions across the world.
The major X9.05 solar flare was fired from the sun and impacted regions in Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and eastern South America. At the time, spaceflight meteorologist Nick Stewart wrote on Twitter: ” “We’ve reached X9. Initial impacts of strong Radio Blackouts in HF radio communication underway. This could potentially have impacts on #Helene response with HAM radio being utilized.”
An image shared in the post showed numerous regions across the globe would be affected by the impact. Many parts of Africa, eastern South America and the Atlantic Ocean show the highest frequency absorption.
The massive solar flare sparked shortwave radio blackouts, affecting communication across Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean.
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