What are Solar Storms?
How they induce Geomagnetic Storms?
Solar storms are intense disturbances caused by the release of energy from the sun's magnetic field.
The sun's magnetic field undergoes a periodic reversal, flipping its polarity in an approximately 11-year cycle.
This process is associated with various solar phenomena, such as sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ↗.
Solar storms induce geomagnetic storms around Earth, which are disturbances in Earth's magnetosphere.
Geomagnetic storms aren't dangerous for humans on the ground. However, they can cause disruptions to our technology. Geomagnetic storms can potentially affect satellites, power grids, and communication systems, as well as radio propagation.
Geomagnetic storms can impact amateur radio activities.
Solar storms begin with solar flares:
A Solar Flare courtesy of NOAA, May 2023
Solar Flares are sudden X-Ray flashes, usually observed near the active regions of the Sun.
This radiation travels at the speed of light, reaching Earth in about eight minutes and twenty seconds.
Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are massive clouds of solar plasma and magnetic field that are ejected from the Sun's corona into space. CMEs can carry billions of tons of solar material and travel at speeds of up to several million kilometers per hour.
CMEs cause geomagnetic storms
Major magnetic storms may block HF propagation (3–30 MHz) by modifying the distribution of free-electrons in the ionosphere.
Solar storms can also affect technology like satellites, GPS systems, and radio communications, causing disruptions like GPS navigation in 2017 and a nine-hour blackout in Quebec in 1989. Although not directly threatening humans, their impact on technology and infrastructure is significant.
- References:
- May 2024 Solar Storms Wikipedia
- Geomagnetic Storms May 2024 Duckduckgo
shows near-real-time indices and explains what the terms mean.