NASA warns of solar storm hitting Earth amid increased activity, fiery eruptions on Sun

The Sun is experiencing a sudden surge in activity with a significant rise in the number of sunspots which are sending plumes of hot plasma out into space, the impact of which is expected to be felt by Earth in the form of geomagnetic storms triggered radio blackouts, reported Newsweek citing a NASA model.

What is happening to the Sun?

The Sun’s surface is covered with dark spots which are called sunspots where the magnetic field is very strong and in the last week or so, the number of these black pockmarks has increased tenfold and are said to be spewing out several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) every day. 

A report by Newsweek citing NASA model said that one of these CMEs – large expulsions of clouds of plasma from the Sun’s corona at high speeds – is expected to hit our magnetic field and atmosphere late on November 25. The Sun may also send out solar flares which are bright bursts of electromagnetic energy.

“Solar flares and CME are both caused by the sun through its magnetic field being twisted and stressed through motions in the sun,” Daniel Brown, an associate professor in astronomy and science communication at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek.

He added, “However, a solar flare is the immense release of light triggered by the snapping and rearranging of the magnetic fields on the sun. That will go hand in hand typically with the release of a CME. But it will take a day or more for the particles to arrive while the light and radiation reaches us in just over 8 minutes.”

A report by Spaceweather.com said that the rise in sunspots began on November 18 when AR3490, the first sunspot group, emerged on the Sun’s northeastern side. Subsequently, another sunspot group, AR3491 emerged and is said to have formed a trail behind it. 

How will this affect the Earth?

Particles of CME hitting Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere trigger a geomagnetic storm during which auroras – which are a result of disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by the solar wind – could enhance and also be visible in lower altitudes. 

“A geomagnetic storm occurs when the Earth’s magnetic field is seriously disrupted by eruptions from the sun,” Huw Morgan, head of the Solar Physics group at Aberystwyth University in the UK told Newsweek. 

“When a large plasma storm erupts from the sun, and that storm carries a magnetic field which is oriented in an opposite direction to Earth's magnetic field, we have a ‘perfect storm,’ and a larger geomagnetic storm.”

But other than painting the sky with pretty lights, geomagnetic storms can also impact infrastructure like fluctuations and outages in the power grid and radio blackouts.

(With inputs from agencies)