Solar flare hits Earth, causing blackouts in the United States 1

Solar flare hits Earth, causing blackouts in the United States

At 12:44 p.m. (Brasília time) on Sunday (5/7), a solar flare hit the Earth’s magnetic field. According to the space meteorology and climatology platform Spaceweatherthe impact of the explosion was considered weak.

The explosion was triggered by a constantly active, reversed-polarity sunspot called AR3296. This time, it produced another M-class event. Experts from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) estimated that the impacts of the new explosion would only be felt on Earth on Wednesday (10/5).

However, extreme ultraviolet radiation from Sunday’s eruption caused a temporary shortwave radio blackout over the western United States and the Pacific Ocean. This impacted naval communications and amateur radio operations.

Understanding the solar flare

A solar flare is the result of a sudden and intense release of energy from the Sun. This happens in solar flares, which are active regions of the star that concentrate a lot of energy in the form of plasma, which is composed of particles, mainly electrons.

When these particles become unstable – which is what normally happens – solar flares occur, radiating electromagnetic energy (pay attention to this term here, it will be important later on) and throwing particles into the interplanetary medium.

These explosions can be weak or strong, and when they are strong, they can reach the Earth. In this case, they can end up momentarily blocking radio communication or interrupting the functioning of satellites.

Understanding Magnetic Fields

Damage from observatories that monitored the event estimates that the impact of the solar flare could cause geomagnetic storms of classes G2 and G3 (medium and strong, respectively).

Now, remember that Sunday’s explosion disrupted the Earth’s magnetic field and affected naval and radio communications? Remember that solar flares radiate electromagnetic energy? Here’s the trick.

First, understand that the Earth’s electromagnetic field, or geomagnetic field, is present in and around the planet, causing it to behave like a magnet. See a representation below:

Solar flare hits Earth, causing blackouts in the United States 4
Image: Reproduction/World Education

Now, consider that all radio communications, such as naval communications, depend on electromagnetic waves to occur. So, when the solar flare radiated electromagnetic energy rich in electron particles, they collided with the earth’s geomagnetic energy, which ‘messed up’ the electromagnetic wave communication that occurs here.

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Solar flare hits Earth, causing blackouts in the United States 5Solar flare hits Earth, causing blackouts in the United States 6
Image: Reproduction/Preparaenem

But, as magnetic fields value stability, the “mess” is re-stabilized over time. Then, naval and radio communications returned to normal.