The most powerful solar storm in over two decades began hitting Earth on Friday, May 10th, putting on a spectacular display of auroras in the skies of the United States, United Kingdom, Northern Europe, Australia, China, and other regions. However, this level of storm could potentially cause disruptions to satellites and power grids.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an “extreme” geomagnetic storm (G5 level) alert on Friday, emphasizing that the impact of this solar coronal mass ejection (CME)-induced geomagnetic storm on Earth is expected to last from Friday through Sunday, May 12th.
This is the first time since October 2003 that NOAA has issued the highest level G5 geomagnetic storm warning. A coronal mass ejection is a phenomenon where the sun releases a large amount of plasma and magnetic field into the solar system.
NOAA stated that as of now, at least seven solar coronal mass ejections have been observed in this geomagnetic storm, with the first wave of ejected material arriving on Earth around 4 pm Greenwich Mean Time on the 10th. The geomagnetic storm is ongoing, and NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center will continue to monitor the developments.
While this geomagnetic activity may affect infrastructure such as satellites and power grids, it has also brought a grand spectacle of auroras to our planet. Not only have auroras appeared in high-latitude regions, but even many low-latitude areas that rarely witness auroras have displayed magnificent displays in the sky.