• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Four Coronal Mass Ejections Are Headed Towards Earth, With Strong Auroras Possible

August 10, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

The Earth is currently in the firing line of four distinct coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which means we could experience geomagnetic storms throughout the weekend. And while it’s unclear exactly how strong these storms will be, such events are known to trigger spectacular auroras at lower latitudes than one would typically expect to see them.

Advertisement

Coronal mass ejections are expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields that are fired out into space from the Sun when solar flares erupt. When the charged particles of a CME interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, they can trigger geomagnetic storms, enhancing the strength and geographical spread of the auroras.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), two CMEs associated with an M-class solar flare began their journey towards Earth on Wednesday, August 7th. The following day, an X-class solar flare erupted, hurtling a third CME in our direction.

X-class signifies the strongest category of solar flare, with Thursday’s event rated at X1.3 (on a scale of X1 to X9). 

According to the SWPC, a “faint CME” associated with another M-class flare was then detected early this morning (August 10th), bringing the total number of plasma blasts heading our way to four. Last night, the sun let off yet another CME, although this one is expected to “pass upstream of Earth orbit.”

With all four coronal mass ejections predicted to reach us between now and Monday, the SWPC has forecast periods of G2 geomagnetic storms from August 10th to 12th. Storms in this category are classified as moderate, although confidence in the magnitude of the weekend’s upcoming events is described as “low”.

Advertisement

According to spaceweather.com, the severity of these storms could be upgraded to G3 if all four CMEs collide with the Earth in quick succession. And with sunspot activity currently high as we approach the solar maximum, the possibility of further M-class and X-class flares between now and the end of the weekend remains elevated.

There’s currently no indication of how strong the auroras associated with these storms might be or how far away from the poles they will become visible, but we do know that the Perseid meteor shower is due to peak on the night of August 11th to August 12th. If a strong geomagnetic storm happens to coincide with this spectacular annual event, then stargazers could be in for a truly unique double whammy this weekend.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. E-commerce aggregator Rainforest raises $20M just months after its last funding
  2. Where to Find Tech-Friendly Art Online
  3. Why Are There No Green Mammals?
  4. Brand New Species Of Delightful Sea Creature Discovered Off The British Coast

Source Link: Four Coronal Mass Ejections Are Headed Towards Earth, With Strong Auroras Possible

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
  • What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
  • Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
  • Andromeda, Solar Storms, And A 1 Billion Pixel Image Crowned Best Astrophotos Of The Year
  • New Island Emerges In Alaska As Glacier Rapidly Retreats, NASA Satellite Imagery Shows
  • With A New Drug Cocktail, Scientists May Have Finally Found Flu’s Universal Weak Spot
  • Battered Skull Confirms Roman Amphitheaters Were Beastly For Bears
  • Mine Spiders Bigger Than A Burger Patty Lurk Deep In Abandoned Caves
  • Blackout Zones: The Places On Earth Where Magnetic Compasses Don’t Work
  • What Is Actually Happening When You Get Blackout Drunk? An Ethically Dubious Experiment Found Out
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version