BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Space weather forecasters have issued a
geomagnetic storm watch through Monday, saying an ouburst of plasma
from a solar flare could interfere with radio transmissions on Earth.
It could also make for great aurora viewing.
There’s no reason for the public to be concerned, according to [1]the
alert issued Saturday by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in
Boulder, Colorado.
The storm could interrupt high-frequency radio transmissions, such as
by aircraft trying to communicate with distant traffic control towers.
Most commercial aircraft can use satellite transmission as backup, said
Jonathan Lash, a forecaster at the center.
Satellite operators might have trouble tracking their spacecraft, and
power grids could also see some “induced current” in their lines,
though nothing they can’t handle, he said.
“For the general public, if you have clear skies at night and you are
at higher latitudes, this would be a great opportunity to see the skies
light up,” Lash said.
Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field flips, meaning its north and
south poles switch positions. Solar activity changes during that cycle,
and it’s now near its most active, called the solar maximum.
During such times, geomagnetic storms of the type that arrived Sunday
can hit Earth a few times a year, Lash said. During solar minimum, a
few years may pass between storms.
In December, [2]the biggest solar flare in years disrupted radio
communications.
References
1.
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/geomagnetic-storm-watches-issued-24-25-march-2024
2.
https://apnews.com/article/solar-flare-sun-nasa-eb3389b4e41955c3292b9c917a5667dc
