The solar storm is now in full swing and its radiation is striking our planet. Experts warn that this could affect electrical appliances and even interfere with satellites.
Space weather forecasters have pointed out that the Earth is currently under the influence of a solar storm, which could be powerful enough to thwart Earth's technology. Solar storms can be harmful to satellite technology, as they can heat up the Earth's outer atmosphere, causing it to expand and obstructing satellite signal flows.
This can affect satellites in orbit, which can result in no GPS navigation, mobile phone signal and satellite TV like Sky.
In addition, the release of particles can lead to strong currents in the magnetosphere, which can lead to higher than usual amperage in power lines, leading to damage to electrical transformers, power plants and loss of power.
The Earth is currently being attacked by a steady stream of solar particles, exacerbated by a small crack in the magnetosphere that allowed solar particles to infiltrate 'inward' on Feb.19.
The space forecast site 'Space Weather' classifies the storm as G-1, which could result in 'weak power system fluctuations' and could have 'negligible impact on satellites':
'A class G1 geomagnetic storm began on February 19, when the Earth entered a small solar wind stream. Even before the arrival of the solar wind, the Earth's magnetic field was filled with energy due to a 'crack' in the atmosphere, which opened more than 8 hours on 18 February. This solar wind served as the soil for today's storm. '
While this storm is expected to have little impact on Earth, scientists warn that on average, a major technological solar storm could occur every 25 years.
Research from the University of Warwick and the British Antarctic Survey analyzed the last 14 solar cycles dating back 150 years ago. The analysis showed that 'strong' magnetic storms occurred in 42 of the last 150 years, and 'strong' superstorms occurred in 6 of the 150 years. Here's what the lead author of the new study, Professor Sandra Chapman of the Center for Space and Astrophysics at the University of Warwick, said:
“These superstorms are rare events, but assessing their likelihood of occurrence is an important part of planning for the level of mitigation needed to protect critical areas of any infrastructure.”
“This study proposes a new method of accessing historical data to gain a better understanding of the likelihood of super storms and what kind of super storm activity we may see in the future.”
The largest technological solar storm occurred in 1859, when an electrical surge during an event known as the 'Carrington event' was so severe that telegraph systems stopped working across Europe. There were also reports that some buildings simply caught fire as a result of the power surge.
