Solar Storms Heading Towards Earth? Here's What We Know So Far

NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has issued a warning about two potential solar storms or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that are projected to partially impact the Earth today (7 July) around 5:30pm IST.

When these large CMEs collide with the Earth's magnetic field or magnetosphere, they can cause significant disturbances known as geomagnetic storms.

These storms can have adverse effects on Earth, such as disrupting power and communication facilities, causing radio blackouts, and affecting GPS services, according to Space.com.

Dr Tamitha Skov, a space weather scientist, shared images of the CMEs captured by the large angle and spectrometric coronagraph experiment (LASCO) on the SOHO spacecraft.

In a tweet, she mentioned that the sun has launched two solar storms on 4 July and NASA predicts their impact before noon on 7 July UTC.

Dr Skov provided further details in a Twitter thread, stating that the first solar storm, which is slower, is anticipated to move northeast and arrive before 5:30pm IST. On the other hand, the second CME is faster and expected to have a more direct impact on the Earth.

Additionally, fast solar wind will follow, and there is a possibility of G1-level auroras reaching mid-latitudes.

The scientist's findings suggest that CMEs may cause a G-1 level geomagnetic storm on Earth. This could potentially disrupt power grids and lead to radio blackouts.