Earth’s Magnetic Field Breached by Powerful Solar Storm

Following a short period of calm, the Earth has been hit by solar particles that have resulted in a frightening solar storm. What makes this event unique is that it was not initiated by a coronal mass ejection, which is typically the cause of such incidents. Rather, it was triggered by solar winds. According to reports, numerous solar winds collided with the Earth’s magnetosphere, causing it to weaken and develop cracks, which is referred to as a co-rotating interaction region. This crack enabled solar winds to ignite the solar storm.

According to a report by SpaceWeather.com, “Earth’s magnetic field remains unclear as of June 16 as a result of yesterday’s co-rotating interaction region (CIR) impact. CIR regions are transition regions between solar wind streams. Solar wind plasma accumulates in these regions, producing shock-like structures that mimic CMEs. The impact of June On the 15th, opened a rift in our planet’s magnetic field, causing a G2 class geomagnetic storm.

Solar storm caused by CIR

Co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) are created when fast-moving solar winds from different directions strike the Earth, stretching its magnetic field and creating cracks in it. The magnetosphere will eventually recover and heal these cracks on its own.

However, as the Sun nears the peak of its solar cycle, such fissures can have a devastating effect, amplifying the intensity of the solar storm. If it was a powerful CME cloud, it could have caused a severe solar storm. A strong solar storm can even interrupt mobile data and Internet reception and cause power grid outages.

NOAA’s Technical Arsenal

One of the major entities that monitor and predict such atmospheric disturbances is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It has an arsenal of satellites floating around the globe that observe our planet and outer space to analyze and understand what causes various weather phenomena. One such technological marvel is the NOAA-20 satellite. It is a polar-orbiting, non-geosynchronous environmental satellite that is part of the Common Polar Satellite System.

It crosses the equator about 14 times a day and provides full global coverage twice a day. This gives meteorologists information about atmospheric temperature and humidity, clouds, sea surface temperature, ocean color, sea ice cover, volcanic ash, fire detection and more.