Heavy solar storm hits Earth this weekend – Joop

A heavy solar storm is heading towards Earth and that could cause problems. The US Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a warning in category G4, the second highest alert level, for the first time in 20 years. The storm could arrive Friday evening and last into Sunday. The danger of a solar storm does not lie in gusts of wind, unlike a normal storm, but in the failure of electronic equipment due to radiation.

Rob van den Berg, from Sonnenborgh Observatory, calls the solar storm special. (…) ‘Solar matter is being shot off from the sun. These are electrically charged particles that cause current to flow through cables, computers and electrical equipment.’ These electrically charged particles generate electricity on their own. A device that is not plugged in can still become electrified, says Van den Berg. He talks about the Carrington Event in 1859, when there was a G5 storm. Because such a high current flowed through the telegraph connections, telegraph houses caught fire. ‘This caused telegraph operators to receive an electric shock. If a G5 storm were to happen now, computers and electrical systems could burn out. This G4 storm involves power outages, navigation systems and high-frequency radios.’

Spacecraft can be thrown off course by the solar storm. People are protected from the direct consequences by the planet’s magnetic field, but all kinds of disruptions can occur and, for example, pipelines can suddenly become electrified. Planes that normally fly over the North Pole are being diverted to protect their occupants from radiation. There is little to do against the solar storm. Only an hour to an hour and a half before the phenomenon reaches Earth will it become clear how powerful it will be.

As a result of the solar storm, the Northern Lights may be visible in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere this weekend.

Space.com reports that there has been unrest in near space all week. Kasper van Dam of the KNMI warned last month about the consequences of increased solar activity: “Something is coming our way, but the predictions are much more uncertain than with normal weather. So I don’t know exactly when it will arrive on Earth.” and how intense it will be.”