Solar plasma jet hits Earth and causes geomagnetic storms; understand 1

Solar plasma jet hits Earth and causes geomagnetic storms; understand

Solar plasma jet hits Earth and causes geomagnetic storms; understand 4

Image: Pixabay

Last week, an intriguing solar occurrence captured the attention of the scientific community and space enthusiasts. O Sunour mother star, emitted a jet of plasma towards Earth, triggering a series of expectations and observations by astronomers and space weather experts.

It all started on Thursday (14/9), when a magnetic filament that was linked to sunspots AR3423 and AR3425 erupted.

This eruption resulted in a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), which is essentially a jet of solar plasma expelled from the Sun’s surface into space. In this case, the plasma jet was an extension of the magnetic filament that broke off and was shot towards Earth.

These coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are relatively common events in the solar cycle, but their impact on Earth depends on several factors, including the speed and intensity of the plasma jet.

In this case, the expectation was that the CME could impact the Earth’s magnetosphere, causing geomagnetic storms and possible disruptions to communications and satellite navigation systems.

The following Sunday, specifically on September 17th, the jet of solar plasma finally reached Earth, fulfilling predictions. However, the observed impact was less significant than initially feared.

The geomagnetic storms caused by the CME were classified between G1 (weak) and G2 (moderate) on the scale defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which ranges from G1 to G5. Fortunately, there have been no reports of substantial damage from these weaker geomagnetic storms.

This means there were no significant disruptions to radio communications networks or damage to orbiting satellites, which are common concerns in more intense solar events.

However, the phenomenon did not go unnoticed by aurora watchers, who had the opportunity to witness beautiful displays of the famous “northern lights”.

What are the Northern Lights?

To the northern lights are spectacular visual phenomena that occur in the Earth’s polar regions in response to the interaction of charged particles from the solar wind with the Earth’s atmosphere.

During these geomagnetic storms, auroras can become more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. The event highlights the importance of research and continuous observation of the Sun and solar activities.

In relation :  Breach of confidentiality: how does science explain the legend of 'Bigfoot'? Understand

More intense solar disturbances can have significant impacts on communications systems such as high-frequency radio communications and GPSin addition to causing damage to satellites in orbit.

Therefore, the ability to predict and monitor these solar events is crucial to mitigating their potentially harmful effects.

Furthermore, the event highlights the fascinating nature of solar plasma. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, in addition to the solid, liquid and gaseous states. It consists of highly energetic particles that constantly collide with each other.

Furthermore, it is an excellent electrical conductor due to the presence of free electrons, which makes it essential for many processes on the Sun and other celestial objects.

Many plasmas emit visible light when excited, which is observable in phenomena such as fluorescent lamps, neon lamps and, of course, stars themselves, which are essentially giant balls of plasma.

The recent jet of solar plasma that hit the Earth provided a fascinating insight into solar processes and their interactions with our planet.

Although their consequences were limited this time, solar events like these continue to remind us of the complexity and beauty of our Solar System and the cosmos at large.