Space Weather reports a second explosion in as many days has hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. It will sweep past our planet on Oct. 30th or 31st and could trigger renewed geomagnetic storming. Electric utilities and communications companies are on high alert for surges and disruptions in service.
The solar activity has caused a series of radio blackouts that affected communications with aircraft traveling at extreme northern and southern latitudes. The blackouts are expected to continue for at least a week. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras tonight.
Scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reported the first wave of a major solar flare hit their satellites late Wednesday afternoon, signaling the storm’s likely arrival Thursday.
“This is the real thing,” says John Kohl, a solar astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and principal investigator for the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer on board NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. “The eruption was positioned perfectly. It’s headed straight for us like a freight train”.
The source of all this solar activity is giant sunspot 486, which can be seen from Earth with the “naked” eye. This week it has unleashed two of the most powerful solar flares ever recorded and hurled massive CMEs toward Earth at 5 million miles an hour. More such eruptions are possible in the days ahead.
There were few reports of damage from Wednesday’s storm, although Japan’s space agency announced the Kodama communications satellite malfunctioned after being affected by the flare. The agency said it was only temporarily shutdown, USA Today reported.
Utilities are closely watching power grids for signs of voltage-control problems, and minor electric surges are reported well under control.
The new storm will add to the effects of Wednesday’s blast, rated a G5, the highest intensity space weather.
Solar storms come in three parts — a fast-moving x-ray flare, a burst of slower radiation and finally the arrival of a giant superheated cloud of gas.
According to NOAA, a G5-class geomagnetic storm can have the following effects:
- Power systems: Widespread voltage control problems and protective system problems can occur, some grid systems may experience complete collapse or blackouts. Transformers may experience damage.
- Spacecraft operations: May experience extensive surface charging, problems with orientation, uplink/downlink and tracking satellites.
- Other systems: Pipeline currents can reach hundreds of amps, HF (high frequency) radio propagation may be impossible in many areas for one to two days, satellite navigation may be degraded for days, low-frequency radio navigation can be out for hours, and aurora has been seen as low as Florida and southern Texas (typically 40 geomagnetic lat.).
More information is available at Space Weather, Google News, Space Daily, Yahoo, New Scientist and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (images).
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