The Earth is presently in the sack line of four distinctcoronal mass ejections(CMEs ) , which think of we could know geomagnetic tempest throughout the weekend . And while it ’s unclear exactly how unattackable these storms will be , such event are known to trigger off spectacular auroras at scummy latitude than one would typically bear to see them .
Coronal stack ejectionsare expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields that are fired out into space from the Sun when solar flares erupt . When the charged particles of a CME interact with the Earth ’s magnetosphere , they can spark geomagnetic storms , enhancing the strength and geographical spreading of theauroras .
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) ’s Space Weather Prediction Center ( SWPC ) , two CMEs associated with an M - stratum solar flash began their journeying towards Earth on Wednesday , August 7th . The following twenty-four hour period , an ten - family solar flare erupt , cast a third CME in our steering .
tenner - class signifies the strongest class of solar flare , with Thursday ’s event rated at X1.3 ( on a scale of X1 to X9 ) .
accord to the SWPC , a “ faint CME ” affiliate with another M - course of study flash was then detected betimes this morning ( August 10th ) , bringing the total figure of blood plasma blasts heading our mode to four . Last night , the Sunday let off yet another CME , although this one is expected to “ hap upstream of Earth sphere . ”
With all four coronal mass expulsion predicted to reach us between now and Monday , the SWPC has forecast menses of G2 geomagnetic storms from August 10th to 12th . storm in this family are classified as moderate , although self-confidence in the order of magnitude of the weekend ’s upcoming events is identify as “ low ” .
According tospaceweather.com , the hardness of these storms could be upgrade to G3 if all four CMEs collide with the Earth in quick succession . And with sunspot activity presently high as we draw near thesolar uttermost , the possibility offurther M - category and X - class flaresbetween now and the end of the weekend remain lofty .
There ’s currently no indication of how strong the dawning associated with these storms might be or how far away from the poles they will become seeable , but we do know that thePerseid meteor showeris due to vizor on the night of August 11th to August 12th . If a strong geomagnetic violent storm happens to coincide with this spectacular one-year event , then stargazer could be in for a in truth unequaled twofold whammy this weekend .
