Beware of the Powerful Solar Storm Bombarding the Earth, Avoid the Impact

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A massive solar storm hit Earth on Monday (12/8/2024). This was provided by the United States (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.

NOAA said in its statement that it was monitoring geomagnetic storm conditions level four on a scale of 5 at 15.00 GMT. This condition may last for several hours, but is not expected to increase further in intensity.

“The severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for highly visible auroras as far south as Alabama and northern California,” NOAA said in a statement, referring to the US state named by AFP.

This new solar storm was caused by a coronal giant explosion (CME), which is an explosion of particles leaving the sun. When these particles reach the Earth, they disturb its magnetic field.

In terms of consequences, this phenomenon can bring the northern lights or aurora further south than usual, so that they can be seen as far away as the mainland of Central Europe.

“There are a lot of auroras now. If they last until the evening here, we might see them,” said astronomer at the Cote d’Azur Observatory in France, Eric Lagadec, in X.

However, solar or geomagnetic storms can also trigger undesirable effects. For example, such storms can damage high-frequency communications, disrupt satellites, and overload power grids.

“Sensitive infrastructure operators have been notified to implement measures to limit these impacts,” NOAA said.

In May, the planet experienced the strongest geomagnetic storm recorded in 20 years. The storm caused auroras to light up the night sky in the United States, Europe and Australia, at latitudes well below normal.

Events of this nature have recently increased as the Sun approaches its peak activity. This corresponds to the solar system’s 11-year central cycle.

(to/the)

Solar Storm Bombards Earth, Radiation Cracks Atmosphere