Solar flare alert! Powerful M-class solar flare could hit Earth today
High-speed solar flares hurled by the Sun have brought the risk of solar and geomagnetic storms. Notably, Earth has been bombarded with solar particles these past few months as the Sun is entering the peak of its 11-year solar cycle and the solar activity is only expected to increase. Therefore, as the Sun further enters the peak of its solar cycle, more solar flares, solar storms and geomagnetic storms are expected to hit the planet.
A solar flare alert has also been issued today, November 14 by NOAA, according to spaceweather.com. NOAA forecasters have alerted of a 40 percent chance that an M-class solar flare could hit Earth due to two Sunspots having unstable beta-gamma magnetic fields. There's also a 10 percent chance that a powerful X-rated solar flare hits the planet. Spaceweather.com said, “NOAA forecasters have boosted the odds of an M-class solar flare today to 40% (plus a 10% chance of X-flares). Two sunspots, AR3140 and AR3141, have unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields. If either explodes, the flare will be geoeffective. Both sunspots are facing Earth"
As the particles erupted during the CME reach Earth, they interact with Earth's magnetic field and spark Geomagnetic storms. When solar particles hit Earth, the radio communications and the power grid is affected when it hits the planet's magnetic field. It can cause power and radio blackouts for several hours or even days. However, electricity grid problems occur only if the solar flare is extremely large.
Auroras too get formed on the poles. In fact, Geomagnetic storms are often the precursor to stunning streaks of green light across the sky known as Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.
Did you know that solar flares have been known to mess with the voting
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