The CME’s wave of energetic particles impacted the Earth’s magnetic field today at 11:30. Due to increased levels of protons in the Earths ionosphere you can expect disturbances to your radio communication systems like, cellular phones, internet connections, DStv, HF radio, and GPS.
Space weather scientists use five categories — A, B, C, M and X — to rank solar flares based on their strength and severity. A-class flares are the weakest, while X-class eruptions are the most powerful.
”In the last week we have had two M-class flares and one X-class flare originate from an active region of the sun known as sunspot AR1429. The most recent CME that originated from this sunspot, was directed towards Earth and resulted in a geomagnetic storm, one of the strongest geomagnetic storms since 2004” said Dr Pierre Cilliers a researcher at SANSA.
The sun is a big ball of boiling gas and solar flares are loop-like structures on the solar surface. When one of these loops becomes unstable, it breaks off from the solar surface and creates a solar flare.
The biggest flares can be tens of times the size of the Earth. In the event of a CME, its high-energy particles can travel at over 2,000 km per second. When a CME reaches the ionosphere (the Earth’s upper atmosphere) it causes a disturbance on the Earth’s magnetic field called a geomagnetic storm.
Dr Lee-Anne McKinnell, MD for SANSA Space Science said “We have a dedicated team keeping a close eye on all the sun’s activity and will keep the public informed on any eventuality arising from solar activity”
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 