Solar Storm 2015 — On Monday afternoon, a powerful geomagnetic storm has hit the Earth. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, the solar storm is a "G4" on the five-point scale, Bloomberg has learned.
A severe geomagnetic or solar storm can trigger power disruptions, space weather experts said. And the storm on Monday is the same level of the solar storm that hit the Earth back in March during St. Patrick's Day.
"We've had some decent storming so far," Space Weather Forecast Office head Robert Rutledge said. "We have a close eye on it."
"G4" solar storm does not pose any risk to satellites or astronauts in space, however, it could affect GPS and the radio signals on Earth. As previously reported, it can affect electric power grid and disrupt power to homes and businesses.
Aside from power interruptions, space weather scientists also said a solar radiation storm could also occur, which can affect airplane flights near and over the poles.
So, what is a geomagnetic or solar storm and what causes this phenomenon? A geomagnetic storm is a created when two significant eruptions from the sun's corona occurred Sunday. These coronal mass ejections are huge explosions of super-hot solar plasma directed toward the Earth. And as it speeds through space, it created the large solar storm.
Solar storms are part of what is called as space weather. As stated by USA Today, it is an energy that soars up from the sun in the form of coronal mass ejections that will interact with Earth's atmospheric and geomagnetic field.
Meanwhile, the solar storm on Monday storm could last a day or longer, as per The New York Times. Though the powerful storm have not caused any damage, NOAA space weather physicist Doug Biesecker revealed the electric grid and GPS probably had current fluctuations that they could handle.
As the severe solar storm hit the Earth on Monday, it supercharged the gorgeous Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights and created a stunning and vibrant sky spectacle. The Aurora Borealis may be seen Tuesday night in as far south as Iowa or Pennsylvania. It is the result of the impact of the particles after hitting the atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere when charged.
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