Current:Home > MarketsArctic and Antarctic might see radio blackouts that could last for days as "cannibal" CME erupts from sun -FinTechWorld
Arctic and Antarctic might see radio blackouts that could last for days as "cannibal" CME erupts from sun
View
Date:2025-04-13 07:03:32
The ongoing solar storm has hit the planet's polar regions, potentially causing a days-long radio blackout, NOAA said on Tuesday. The impact has hit as a "cannibal" coronal mass ejection makes its way to Earth from the sun, experts say.
The potential radio blackouts are part of a Polar Cap Absorption, which is when high-frequency and very high-frequency radio waves in the ionosphere are absorbed, while low-frequency and very low-frequency radio waves are reflected at lower altitudes than usual. NOAA said the event has been in progress since Monday evening at roughly 9:15 p.m. ET.
The event was caused by a massive cloud of plasma coming off the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), as well as a strong M5 solar flare. Those two eruptions triggered a minor solar radiation storm that sent energetic protons to Earth.
"PCA events can prevent the ability to communicate via HF radio propagation around the polar regions and can last for hours to days," NOAA said Tuesday. "This event is likely to continue throughout 18 July and perhaps into 19 July."
A PCA event began the evening of Monday, 17 July, 2023, starting at approximately at 9:30pm EDT. PCA events can prevent the ability to communicate via HF radio propagation around the polar regions and can last for hours to days. Visit https://t.co/YLUbTRMxS6 for the latest info. pic.twitter.com/8E5SSYoFKl
— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) July 18, 2023
The solar radiation storm is classified as an S1 on a scale that goes up to S5, meaning that it has no biological impacts and won't affect satellite operations, although it could cause radio blackouts at the poles.
NOAA's notice came shortly after the agency announced an M5.7 flare and CME had erupted from the same region of the sun and that a moderate solar radiation storm with the power to cause radio blackouts on the sunlit side of Earth had been observed by a satellite.
The agency said Sunday that solar flares were expected throughout the week, with a chance of X-class flares – the strongest ones described as "explosions on the surface of the sun" – on Monday and Tuesday. But there's also a "cannibal" CME on the way, experts say, as the sun, currently in the fourth year of its cycle, saw even more plasma bursts just days ago.
On Friday, the sun saw a small solar flare as well as a "dark eruption" on the sun's surface, which SpaceWeather.com described as a "spray of dark plasma" that "flew away from the sun's southern hemisphere." A day later, a second, stronger flare erupted from the sun.
According to SpaceWeather.com, NOAA models show that the second flare was expected to essentially consume the first, forming what's known as a "cannibal CME." NOAA has said that the CMEs involved in this event are expected to arrive on Tuesday, making a low-level geomagnetic storm possible on top of the existing solar radiation storm.
Under a minor geomagnetic storm, the northern lights could be visible from Michigan and Maine, NOAA says, and there could be minor impacts on power grids and satellite operations.
Nottingham Trent University associate astronomy professor Daniel Brown told Newsweek that the strength of the CMEs is what determines how strong a geomagnetic storm the planet will ultimately see.
"The amount of matter ejected, its speed, the associated magnetic fields, as well as how they interact with other already emitted particles from the sun, all add up to a bumpy environment moving outwards from the sun for our Earth's magnetic field to travel through," Brown said. "The more prolonged, the stronger the interaction will be and the higher the likelihood of a strong geomagnetic storm."
- In:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- News From Space
- Space
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (3293)
Related
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Bowl projections: Tennessee joins College Football Playoff field, Kansas State moves up
- Shohei Ohtani hits HR No. 48, but Los Angeles Dodgers fall to Miami Marlins
- Kate Middleton Reaches New Milestone After Completing Chemotherapy for Cancer
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Atlantic City mayor, wife indicted for allegedly beating and abusing their teenage daughter
- Ellen DeGeneres Addresses Workplace Scandal in Teaser for Final Comedy Special
- A Mississippi Confederate monument covered for 4 years is moved
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- WNBA awards Portland an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026
Ranking
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- 'World-changing' impact: Carlsbad Caverns National Park scolds visitor who left Cheetos
- LeanIn says DEI commitments to women just declined for the first time in 10 years
- Diddy is accused of sex 'freak off' parties, violence, abuse. What happened to 'transparency'?
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Halle Berry Reveals Hilarious Mom Mistake She Made With 16-Year-Old Daughter Nahla
- Harvey Weinstein set to be arraigned on additional sex crimes charges in New York
- Feds: Cockfighting ring in Rhode Island is latest in nation to exploit animals
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act
Mississippi program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services
Inside the Brooklyn federal jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is locked up: violence, squalor and death
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
California governor signs laws to crack down on election deepfakes created by AI
NASA plans for launch of Europa Clipper: What to know about craft's search for life
Most maternal deaths can be prevented. Here’s how California aims to cut them in half