The breathtaking light displays are a result of the sun nearing the peak of its current 11-year cycle. Visibility of the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, has increased in parts of the United States and Europe following an intense solar storm. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has warned that this solar storm could trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth, potentially affecting hurricane recovery efforts.
The Northern Lights have been seen as far south as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas in the United States, as well as in New York, Northern California, Massachusetts, and Illinois. In Britain, the UK Met Office reported that the lights were visible across much of the country, while in Europe, large areas of pink and green illuminated the sky as far as Turkey.
These stunning light displays were prompted by a coronal mass ejection (CME), which involves a large mass of plasma and highly magnetized particles being ejected from the sun, leading to severe solar storms. According to NASA, large CMEs can contain up to a billion tons of matter accelerated to several million miles per hour before impacting any planet or spacecraft in their path.
When Earth is directly hit by a CME, the highly magnetized and charged solar particles interact with its magnetic field, producing geomagnetically induced currents that can disrupt communication satellites and long-distance cables. The latest CME hit Earth at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour and is being closely monitored by NOAA for potential geomagnetic storm intensity.
NOAA has warned that a geomagnetic storm could impact recovery efforts for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Communication systems relying on low-Earth orbit satellites or high-frequency communication may experience disruptions, while power grids, already weakened by the hurricanes, could face further stress. GPS services, such as navigation systems, may also experience reception issues.
The public is urged to stay informed about space weather by visiting the Space Weather Prediction Center’s website for updates. As the sun approaches the peak of its current 11-year cycle, more solar activity, such as solar flares, and more aurora sightings are expected to occur.
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