Warning: Earth to be Impacted by Solar Filament Eruption

For nearly two weeks, the Sun remained calm, marking a significant occurrence in 2023, a year filled with frequent solar storms, solar flare eruptions, and incoming solar winds. Previously, the longest period without any solar activity directed towards Earth lasted only one week, observed in April. However, the Sun has now become active again, with a magnetic filament eruption taking place on August 23 at the southwestern limb. This eruption resulted in the release of solar material into space, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecasted that the cloud of solar debris will reach Earth on Sunday, August 27, causing a solar storm.

According to a SpaceWeather.com report, “A magnetic filament erupted near the Sun’s southwest limb on August 23 (movie). According to NOAA models, debris could graze Earth’s magnetic field on August 27. The flashy impact could cause G1-class geomagnetic storms with aurora borealis around the Arctic Circle.”

The solar storm will arrive on August 27

According to NOAA’s forecast, the possible storm is a G1 geomagnetic storm, which is considered quite minor. Such solar storms may not be strong enough to affect mobile networks or damage satellites, but they can still cause radio blackouts and disrupt GPS signals. Things can get worse if these CME clouds pick up the solar wind on their way, and along with it, create terrifying solar storms. In addition, the northern lights can also be seen at high latitudes.

But this is not the end of Earth’s problems. Just a couple of hours ago, Space Weather Live posted on their X account that an M1.4 solar flare had erupted. This was the second M-class solar flare in the past three days, with the first exploding on August 23. The exact area of this flare is unknown, but it is believed that one of the many sunspot regions may have become unstable.

This also means that in the coming days this region could also trigger an X-class solar flare that could send a terrifying Coronal Mass Eruption (CME) toward Earth.

Role of NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite in solar storm monitoring

NOAA monitors solar storms and the Sun’s behavior with its DSCOVR satellite, launched in 2016. The returned data is then run through the Space Weather Prediction Center and a final analysis is prepared. Various measurements are made of the temperature, speed, density, degree of orientation and frequency of solar particles.