(NLDO) - The skies over much of North America this weekend could be lit up by the biggest geomagnetic storm the Earth has experienced in years.
A "cosmic gun" - a sunspot - named AR3664 has grown to 15 times the diameter of Earth, continuously firing X-class flares towards us in recent days and causing major disturbances in the magnetosphere.
Images from NASA's SDO spacecraft show how a sunspot many times larger than Earth is exploding - Photo: NASA
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the disturbance is expected to peak on May 11 (Eastern US time, from noon May 11 to noon May 12 Vietnam time).
In the past few days, this "cosmic gun" has been frantically releasing five consecutive solar flares directly at our planet, which will reach the magnetosphere over the weekend.
"Space gun" AR3664 as seen from Earth today - Photo: NASA
This explosive event could cause brilliant auroras across much of North America for several days as the geomagnetic storm reaches G4 level.
This is the largest geomagnetic storm level Earth has ever experienced in many years, surpassed only by the G5 geomagnetic storm during the Carrington Event and the Halloween solar storm in 2003.
The Carrington event of 1859 caused auroras around the world, even in some low latitudes, causing damage to the global telegraph system.
The Halloween solar storm in 2003 was equally strong, also accompanied by brilliant auroras, but fortunately did not cause any significant damage because it had been warned in advance.
Geomagnetic storms, also known as solar storms, occur when flares, fireballs from the parent star carrying strong magnetic fields collide with the Earth's magnetosphere.
It is difficult for humans to feel it directly, but radio communication and positioning devices will be affected, so accurate forecasting is very important for some fields.
For example, in February 2022, the American space company SpaceX accidentally launched 49 Starlink satellites right at the time of an unusual geomagnetic storm. As a result, about 40 satellites fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.
As for the flares from AR3664, a powerful geomagnetic storm on May 9 caused temporary radio disruption across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
It is expected to take several more days for this giant sunspot cluster to rotate away from Earth, but it is very likely that another sunspot will take up its work.
The Sun is entering the peak of its 11-year cycle, expected to peak in 2024-2025 and then return to calm.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/hong-sung-vu-tru-gap-15-lan-trai-dat-gay-bao-dia-tu-lon-hom-nay-196240511082629498.htm
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