The massive solar storm is moving towards the Earth at a speed of 1.6 million kilometres per hour. It is expected to hit the Earth today, this may lead to a power failure around the globe, according to spaceweather.com. In respect to this, wind speeds could reach 500 km/s, triggering a geomagnetic storm and high latitude auroras.
"A high-speed stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. Flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere, wind speeds could top 500 km/s. Full-fledged geomagnetic storms are unlikely, but lesser geomagnetic unrest could spark high latitude auroras," spaceweather.com informed.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has reportedly classified the solar storm as G-1 or 'minor'. The solar flare is expected to hit satellites operating in the Earth's upper atmosphere, which might impact GPS navigation, mobile phone signals and satellite TV. The flares also have the potential of affecting power grids in some parts of the world.
What is a geomagnetic storm?
A major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere, which occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth, is known as a geomagnetic storm. The storm is the result of major changes in the currents, plasmas produced by solar winds, as per the NOAA.
The most powerful geomagnetic storm ever recorded resulted in the 1859 Carrington Event, when telegraph lines electrified, zapping operators and setting offices ablaze in North America and Europe. To create a geomagnetic storm, a solar wind has to sustain high speeds for a long period of time, which transfers the energy of the wind into Earth's magnetic field.
According to the National Weather Service's (NWS), Space Weather Prediction Center, a G-1-class geomagnetic storm was to hit the Earth's atmosphere in July. The same sort of storm occurred around four years ago causing a blackout over the Atlantic region.
These storms are not unusual, if you go back in history you will read about many such storms occurring over the years. According to a report by Space Weather, a great storm had hit the Earth in 1582. At that time people felt that the earth was about to end. Soares, a Portuguese writer of that time, wrote, "Only fire was visible in the northern sky for three nights everywhere. Every part of the sky seemed as if it had turned into flames. At midnight, rays of terrible fire emerged which were very terrifying and scary."
The storm originated from a hole that has opened up in the Sun's atmosphere. There are concerns this storm may cause a power failure around the world.