With a little luck and a good weather forecast, you might be able to see the Northern Lights. But the solar storm bringing them could also affect our technology.
Got weekend plans? Maybe pencil in some skygazing. And keep batteries and a weather radio close by, just in case. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch beginning Friday, May 10. That could bring the delights of seeing the Northern Lights, but also could pose problems for power grids.
„At least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed and expected to arrive as early as midday Friday, May 10, 2024, and persist through Sunday, May 12, 2024,“ the center noted. „Several strong flares have been observed over the past few days and were associated with a large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster, which is 16 times the diameter of Earth.“
In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages, as well as problems with satellite systems and radio communications.
„Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations,“ NOAA said, adding that representatives of the center have notified the operators of these systems so they can take protective action.
