Incoming severe solar storm could knock out radio on Earth
The Earth will soon be splattered with a big blob of solar goo, which could knock out some radio satellites.
The goo, known as a coronal mass ejection, was spat out by the sun yesterday and will arrive either tonight or tomorrow morning.
The Met Office has warned that the blast of charged particles could cause a ‘severe’ solar storm.
While power outages can occur during such storms, space weather forecasters say electricity being knocked out is unlikely.
This does, however, mean people in the UK have a high chance of seeing the northern lights, which happen when solar plasma interacts with Earth’s invisible magnetic field.
No need to bring an umbrella out for this storm, though, as they occur miles above your head in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Every now and then, the sun will cough out explosions of particles coronal mass ejections.
These particles – protons, electrons and helium nuclei – travel millions of miles per hour through space.
As they splodge the Earth, their electrical currents and magnetic fields can damage spacecraft and disrupt power grids.
Met Office space weather manager Krista Hammond told Metro: ‘There is still some uncertainty around the exact timing of the CME’s arrival, but it is expected overnight tonight or tomorrow morning.
‘The CME is likely to result in geomagnetic storming, giving the potential to view the aurora.
‘However, sightings are dependent on the CME arriving during hours of darkness and clear skies. Unfortunately, cloud and rain on Tuesday evening may make viewing difficult, even if the timing is favourable.’
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