A big solar storm, which is a disturbance coming from the sun, is currently affecting South Africa. This storm can mess up various technologies.
SA space agency warns of severe solar storm
The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is currently monitoring a significant solar event involving a solar flare—an explosive burst of energy from the sun.
This flare has escalated into a powerful solar storm classified as a “G5/Extreme” geomagnetic storm, the most intense kind.
This kind of storm can disturb the Earth’s magnetic field, which is an invisible force that surrounds our planet and protects us from solar radiation.
This storm began with an M-class solar flare. “M-class” refers to the middle range of solar flares in terms of intensity, with X-class being the highest and C-class being more common but less intense.
Following the flare, a coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred. CMEs are huge expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona (the outer part of the sun’s atmosphere) that can travel through space and impact Earth.
When these CMEs hit Earth’s magnetic field, they can cause what are known as geomagnetic storms.
During such storms, the usual patterns of Earth’s magnetic field temporarily distort and fluctuate.
This can interfere with the operation of satellites and other technologies that depend on Earth’s magnetic stability.
Specifically, this storm has affected the K-index in Hermanus, which is a scale measuring the magnetic disturbance. A high K-index, such as 7, indicates strong geomagnetic activity.
What impact will this storm have on South Africa?
This powerful solar storm can significantly impact various technologies across South Africa.
Specifically, the storm can disrupt high-frequency (HF) radio communications. HF radios are essential for communication over long distances, such as between aircraft and control towers or ships at sea.
These radios rely on the ionosphere, a layer of Earth’s atmosphere that reflects radio waves back to the ground.
Solar storms can disturb the ionosphere, causing radio signals to fade or become distorted, which disrupts these communications.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which include GPS systems, are also vulnerable to solar storms. GNSS relies on signals from satellites to provide positioning and timing information.
However, solar storms can change the density of the ionosphere, through which these signals travel.
This can delay the signals reaching Earth, leading to errors in navigation data which can affect everything from your smartphone map apps to systems guiding airplanes and ships.
Here’s a simplified explainer of how SANSA monitors solar storms
SANSA plays a crucial role in monitoring solar activity and assessing its potential impact on Earth. This monitoring is vital because solar storms can disrupt technologies we rely on daily.
SANSA uses a variety of sophisticated instruments to keep an eye on the sun and its emissions.
One of the primary tools used by SANSA is the magnetometer, which measures changes in Earth’s magnetic field. These changes are important indicators of geomagnetic storms, which are disturbances in Earth’s magnetic environment caused by solar activity.
By tracking these changes, SANSA can predict when and how these storms might affect Earth.
SANSA also employs solar telescopes, which provide detailed images of the sun in different wavelengths. These images help scientists observe phenomena like solar flares and CMEs.
Understanding these events is crucial for predicting solar storms and preparing for their potential effects.