For more than 20 years (it was 2003) planet Earth had not experienced one solar storm (or geomagnetic) as powerful as the one that was unleashed in the last few hours and of the highest level (level five out of five): as the American NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) explains, these are extreme conditions that could persist throughout the week -end causing many problems for GPS and telecommunications in general.
What could happen
“GPS, power grids, spacecraft, satellites and other technologies could be affected“, he explained on theX account the American agency. The phenomenon occurs when the Sun expels what is called “coronal mass”, i.e. a notable leakage of material contained in the solar corona which expands towards space until it directly involves our planet. A similar event had occurred only in October 2003 in what were called “Halloween storms” with significant repercussions on the European electricity grid and in South Africa.
“Historic Event”
“This is an event unusual and potentially historical“said Clinton Wallace, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in Earth orbit and on the Earth's surface with disruptions to communications, radio and satellite operations. All industry operators have been inform yourself in order to take so-called “protective” actions and limit the damage.
The phenomenon of the Northern Lights
The most tangible phenomenon of what is happening in these hours were the spectacular ones Northern Lights immortalized last night not only in the United States and Northern Europe but also in Italy at unusually low latitudes: even in Sicily the sky turned red towards the north but photographic contributions on social media come from practically all Italian regions. “The effects of the Northern Lights are expected to last through the weekend and perhaps into next week.” the NOAA experts explained. “Most people here on planet Earth won't have to do anything“, explained Rob Steenburgh, scientist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. The storm could make the Northern Lights visible even as far as the southern United States, from Alabama and northern California.
Last night we officially reached the extreme G5 geomagnetic storm threshold
It was one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of all time in the modern era, that's history!
The Northern Lights in the mountains of Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/QtlHx74wPt
— Steven Cercamondi (@astrosteven_) May 11, 2024
Because it came so strong
According to what was explained by the prof. Mauro Messerotti, professor of space meteorology at the University of Trieste, the solar storm is caused by “intense activity of a gigantic group of sunspots, called AR3664, which extends for about 200 thousand kilometers, about 16 times the size of the Earth”.
The area is so big”which is also visible to the naked eye, obviously always with adequate protection”, adds the expert.