Solar Storm Most Likely To Hit The Earth Today; Can Affect Communication Signals

Solar Storm

A solar storm could hit the Earth’s magnetic field, suggests the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This solar flare can hit the planet on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, the storm is coming towards the Earth with a speed of 1.6 million km/h. This can impact the communication signals and supply of electricity in various parts of the world.

The storm has originated from the atmosphere of the sun, as per the website SpaceWeather.com. Besides, the report also reads that a hole has opened in the sun’s atmosphere, and it is this hole that is spewing solar winds in the direction of the Earth.

Solar storm likely to hit Earth today: GPS, internet, satellites may be  affected- Technology News, Firstpost
Source: Firstpost

 Additionally, the same could also impact the GPS and mobile signals in the different parts of the world. Moreover, the massive solar flare may also affect the satellites operating in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. This flare also has the power of impacting the large power grids in some parts across the world. 

This news on solar flare comes only a week after the sun ejected one of the most prominent flares in the last four years. Additionally, this flare caused a radio blackout in the Atlantic region. The top of the Earth’s atmosphere was ionized by the X-class solar flare, which led to a shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic ocean.

Massive solar storm set to hit Earth: GPS, phone signals to be damaged,  power grids vulnerable - SCIENCE News
Source: India Today

Also read: Richard Branson Became the First Man to Fly into Space with His Own Spaceship

What Exactly Is A Solar Flare?

Solar flares occur due to alterations in the magnetic field on the sunspots that result in massive explosions. The phenomenon is sudden, rapid as well as intense. The radiations after the explosion tend to radiate the waves to the lengths and breadths of the universe. Besides, these radiations also contain gamma rays, radio waves as well as x-rays.

According to different sources, these solar flares can travel at a very high speed. Their speed could be as fast as 500 km/second. 

Solar storm today | Powerful solar storm heading towards Earth at speed of  1.6 million kmph, could disrupt cellphone signals
Source: Times Now

As per NASA, the most oversized flares are known as “X-class flares.” Most miniature flares fall under the A-class. Their strength categorizes these. There are types of X-class flares as well, called X2 and X3. 

People at the north and the south pole can also witness beautiful celestial lightings during the night hours. 

The storms have hit the planet before as well. Hence it is no new thing to the Earth. However, these could cause trouble. We had an example of such an incident when a solar storm caused a 9-hours blackout in the electricity transmission system in Canada in 1989.

A student by day and a writer by night, Diksha Arya holds interest in writing poems and reading articles on politics and policies