On Valentine's Day, the Earth witnessed a dazzling display of aurora borealis following an intense solar storm. Now, another solar phenomenon has occurred, and it could have serious consequences for our planet. A partial halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was hurled towards Earth on February 15 and is expected to reach us on February 17, according to a report from Spaceweather.com. A CME can release up to a billion tons of matter, which can travel at millions of miles per hour, causing a spectacular explosion as it enters the interplanetary medium and collides with any planet or spacecraft in its path.
Even though the Sun and Earth appear to be far away, solar activity can nevertheless have a big impact. Upon releasing from the Sun, CMEs take 24 to 48 hours to travel to Earth. An Earth-hitting minor G-1 class geomagnetic storm will result from the CME's initial impact.
The CME is anticipated to arrive on February 17 in the evening, and analysts believe that this mild geomagnetic storm will strengthen into a G-2 class storm on February 18. The magnetic field lines of the planet temporarily become interrupted when the geomagnetic storm hits, releasing tremendously high magnetic energy. The oxygen in the upper atmosphere is sufficiently ionised by this energy and heat to produce the blue-green colour hues of light knows as auroras.
The Geomagnetic storm on February 17 is expected to bring about stunning auroras that could spill into the United States, as far south as New York and Idaho. However, these storms can also be very disruptive, causing GPS, radio communications, mobile phone connectivity, satellite, and even Internet outages. Additionally, they can create harmful geomagnetic-induced currents (GICs) in electricity grids.
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