In recent times, solar activity has been recorded at an alarming peak. Monthly total average sunspot activity has exceeded forecasts since early 2023. Some researchers believe that the actual peak of the current solar cycle may be late or early this year. 2024. Therefore, Earth must prepare for more intense and frequent solar storm events. Today is going to be one of those days, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a dangerous solar storm warning for May 16.
According to a report by SpaceWeather.com, NOAA forecasters say a CME could hit Earth’s magnetic field on May 16. Relatively faint and slow-moving, it was hurled into space on May 12 by a filament of magnetism that exploded in the Sun’s southern hemisphere. It also highlights that the resulting impact is expected to be a G1-class geomagnetic storm.
Due to solar storm, there is a possibility of technical failure today
Compared to some of the stronger solar storm events we’ve seen in May, this particular one isn’t expected to be very strong. However, even small storms can cause some serious damage. It can disrupt wireless communications and GPS services, causing problems for airlines, mariners, ham radio controllers and drone operators. Solar storms can delay flights, alter the course of ships, and disrupt any critical information shared through these low-frequency channels. A coronal mass ejection (CME) could hit Earth within hours, according to NOAA models.
This will not be the end of Earth’s problems. There is a giant sunspot slowly turning towards Earth. It is very active and can trigger a series of solar storms towards Earth.
NASA technology for predicting solar storms
The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) carries a full suite of instruments to observe the Sun and has done so since 2010. It uses three very important instruments to gather data from various solar activities. The Sun’s extreme ultraviolet irradiance and atmosphere imaging assembly (AIA) includes the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), which takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field across the solar disk. The seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels cover the solar chromosphere and Provides continuous full-disc observations of the corona.