What is solar storm? How may it impact Earth? Next solar storm or solar flare may occur when...

After NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the Solar storm on Saturday, May 24, astronomers asked themselves the next question: when will the next solar storm or the solar flare occur? The observatory saw a bright flash on May 24. The image taken by NASA shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light highlighting the extremely hot material in flares. 

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy at the surface of the Sun. These are dangerous for the Earth as solar flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals. They can also pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.   You can watch solar flares and get more information about it by visiting NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center at https://spaceweather.gov/

What is Solar Radiation Storm?

According to NASA, solar radiation storms occur when a large-scale magnetic eruption causes a coronal mass ejection that accelerates charged particles in the solar atmosphere to very high velocities. Protons are the most important particles and these can get accelerated to large fractions of the speed of light. Protons can travel a distance of 150 million km from the sun to Earth in just 10 minutes or less. After reaching Earth, these protons penetrate the magnetosphere that shields Earth from lower energy-charged particles. Once inside the magnetosphere, the particles travel down the magnetic field lines and penetrate into the atmosphere near the north and south poles.

How may solar storms impact Earth?

Solar radiation storms can cause immense damage to mankind. The highly energized protons can damage the satellites by colliding with satellites. If they hit humans in space, they can penetrate and disturb the biological DNA. Besides, passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk if the radiation storm is very severe. The protons can also also disturb radio communication by creating a layer near the bottom of the ionosphere that can absorb High Frequency (HF) radio waves.

SWPC predicts solar storm

Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC) has predicted that S1 or the Minor Radiation Storm may occur soon. It also issued a warning that an S1 or higher event is most likely to occur soon. Besides, the 100 MeV proton level is expected to reach 1 pfu. However, the  SWPC or any other agency can not predict the exact date or time of such solar radiation storms or solar flares.