A massive solar storm is making its way towards Earth, and it’s likely to hit today.
The storm was created by a solar flare – a large explosion in the sun’s atmosphere – which generated charged particles earlier this week.
The charged particles from the sun are moving towards Earth, and they could disrupt power grids, spacecraft and satellite operations.
The solar particles are expected to hit Earth either today or tomorrow, and they will also likely trigger auroras for people living in higher latitudes.
‘Aurora may be visible at high latitudes,’ the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wrote in a statment.
This may include the ‘northern tier’ of the US, with affected states including parts of Michigan and Maine.
The NOAA says that the forecast suggests the solar storm will be a G-1 or ‘minor’ storm, which could become a G-2 ‘moderate storm’ depending on how the charged particles hit Earth.
Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a severity scale, with G at the bottom, R in the middle and S at the top.
The particles, which came from the sun after a solar flare took place on February 12, could cause ‘weak power grid fluctuations’ and a ‘minor impact on satellite operations,’ according to the NOAA.
NASA and the NOAA keep a track of solar events using many different telescopes which help generate geomagnetic weather forecasts.
