The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a powerful geomagnetic storm watch that could disrupt communications, the power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations but also produce a nighttime light show.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center’s G4 watch – the second such warning issued this year – warns of possible solar flares Thursday and Friday, resulting in a coronal mass ejection from the sun that could disrupt the electromagnetic field.
A group of sunspots erupted on Tuesday night that gave signals of a powerful release of solar energy and embedded magnets, also known as a coronal mass ejection, which causes geomagnetic storms when directed at Earth, according to the forecast center.
The impact of the storm is a guess, as scientists won’t know for sure the effect of this geomagnetic storm until it comes close to two satellites 1 million miles from Earth, said Sean Dahl, service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center.
The coronal mass ejection is expected to reach the satellites on Thursday morning, Eastern time. Experts could not give an exact time. If that happens, a geomagnetic storm is expected to reach Earth 15 to 30 minutes later.
A powerful geomagnetic storm includes the power of the aurora borealis – also known as the northern lights – visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California.
At this time, scientists have not been able to pinpoint specific times or exact locations where the aurora may be visible.
If you want to catch a glimpse of the aurora, experts recommend following the Prediction Center’s aurora dashboard and online 30-minute weather forecast for updates.
NOAA experts say the best time to see the great aurora is between 10pm and 2am from a high altitude with less light pollution.
Experts say this powerful geomagnetic storm will not surpass the storm that occurred in May when the storm was created by a series of coronal mass ejections. This time there is only one coronal mass ejection and experts believe that the duration of the event will be very short.
