solar storm Earth

After an amazing sunspot-filled June, July appears set to continue the trend of extreme solar volatility. We have already seen a radio blackout this month after a solar flare erupted on the notorious sunspot AR3554. Now, two separate coronal mass ejections (CME) have been released from the Sun and they are both partly Earth-directed, as per data from NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. This means that both will graze the Earth and spark solar storm events. And to make matters worse, it is expected that the second…

As we enter July, the solar data from the previous month has been published and the number is terrifying. In June 2023, the average number of sunspots was counted to be 163. As a result, 2023 has also broken a 21-year record for the highest number of sunspots. And it has only been one half of a year. The current projection will make the peak of Solar Cycle 25 far greater than its predecessor, even as initial predictions said it would be weaker than Solar Cycle 24. With the rising intensity of solar activity, researchers…

This week's solar storm prediction models had earlier claimed that today, July 1, was likely to be the worst affected by solar activities. The prediction is likely to come true as a coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to hit the Earth and deliver a glancing blow later today. This solar storm event is arriving after a bit of a quiet period where Earth escaped as many as three CME hits. Researchers are concerned about the intensity of the storm as well as its adverse effects on satellites and wireless communication…

In case you have been wondering why solar activity has increased exponentially over the last few months, you should know that scientists have predicted that the peak of the current solar cycle will arrive by the middle of 2025. The peak, also known as Solar Maximum, is the phase when the solar activity is at its highest in the 12-year period of the cycle. That's why we saw two separate solar flare incidents last week, both of which triggered a radio blackout on Earth. And now, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has…

After an unremarkable weekend, solar activity is again picking up speed. Last week, we witnessed two separate radio blackout events triggered by an X-class solar flare and an M-class solar flare. While the CME escaped the Earth and no solar storms were to be seen, this week the fear is far greater. A sunspot in Earth's view named AR3340 has gone unstable and is now harboring a delta-class magnetic field, which is a big catalyst for solar flare eruptions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has…

Just yesterday, a NASA model revealed the massive coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud that was released from the blast site of the X1-class solar flare eruption that was going to hit both Mars and Venus. Now, a new model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed that the Earth will also get blasted by the cloud today, June 23. Shockingly, NASA had stated that the CME is so strong that a part of Venus' atmosphere might erode as a result of the impact. It cannot be assessed at the moment…

On June 20, an X1.1-class solar flare erupted on the Sun, making it one of the biggest explosions seen this year. The flare sparked a shortwave radio blackout across North America that affected wireless communications for as long as 30 minutes after the flare first erupted. NASA also spotted a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud escaping after the blast. This CME is extremely potent and has been classified as Type II solar emission. This dangerous CME is capable of delivering an extremely dangerous solar storm.…

Over the recent weeks, the Sun has emitted massive amounts of energy in the form of solar flares. While some of these flares unleashed from the Sun pass harmlessly into space, others hit Earth, resulting in geomagnetic storms. Over the past few days, an unstable sunspot named AR3335 has caused concerns due to the possibility of it releasing hazardous solar flares. For those unfamiliar, a sunspot is a dark area on the Sun's surface that appears due to intense magnetic activity.As per a SpaceWeather.com report, this…

After a brief period of quiet, the Earth has been bombarded with solar particles that have sparked a terrifying solar storm event. Interestingly, the solar storm was not triggered by a coronal mass ejection, which is usually responsible for such events. Instead, it was caused by the solar winds. Reports suggest that multiple solar winds smacked into the Earth's magnetosphere, causing it to weaken and cracks to open up in its structure, an occurrence known as a co-rotating interaction region. The crack allowed solar winds…

The Earth got lucky once again as it narrowly missed the incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud and escaped what could have been a terrifying solar storm event. This is the third time in two months that the Earth has barely escaped being sideswiped by a CME wave. But how long can this luck actually last? That is what astronomers are wondering as six giant sunspots are facing the Earth. With such a high number of active regions on the Sun, it seems inevitable that one of them will blast a CME that can cause a solar…