The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning, as a solar flare hit Earth on the afternoon of May 10 local time, hours earlier than predicted, causing effects that could last into next week.
NOAA is warning operators of power plants and orbiting spacecraft to take precautions, as is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But “for everyone on Earth, there’s nothing to do,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
According to NOAA, the storm could produce northern lights as far north as Alabama and Northern California, but this remains unpredictable.
“The aurora is really a gift from space weather,” says Steenburgh. He and his colleagues say even phone cameras can capture some of the best views of the aurora.
The most intense solar storm on record, in 1859, created auroras in Central America and possibly Hawaii.
The aurora borealis glows in Whitley Bay on the northeast coast of England, May 10. Photo: AP
NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl said the solar storm posed a threat to high-voltage transmission lines for the power grid, not the regular power lines people use.
Satellites can also be affected, which can disrupt navigation and communications services on Earth. For example, a powerful geomagnetic storm in 2003 caused power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa.
Even after the storm ends, the signal between GPS satellites and ground receivers may become scrambled or lost, according to NOAA. But there are so many navigation satellites that the outage won’t last long, Steenburgh noted.
Since May 8, the Sun has produced powerful flares that have led to at least seven coronal mass ejections. Each eruption can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona.
NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The biggest concern, Steenburgh said, was increased radiation levels and the crew could move to a more shielded area if necessary.
Increased radiation could also threaten some of NASA’s scientific satellites. Highly sensitive instruments will be turned off if necessary to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of NASA’s astrophysics science division.
Hoai Phuong (according to AP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bao-mat-troi-manh-bat-thuong-sap-tan-cong-trai-dat-post295059.html
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