[ad_1]
Do not panic ! A massive solar storm is NOT heading towards Earth. Articles alleging a “massive” solar storm was to be heading our way this week have circulated widely online. A “high speed flow of solar wind is expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field as meteorologists issue warnings,” a questionable website wrote.
Scientists, however, have categorically refuted this claim. Here are the details:
ALLEGATION: A solar storm is heading towards Earth and could impact cell phone signals and cause power outages.
THE FACTS: False claims are circulating about a possible solar storm that could strike this week, but experts don’t see a storm in sight.
Articles online began claiming on Tuesday that the storm would cause massive disruption on Earth that would continue into the week.
Some articles sharing the false claim called the supposed event “solar storm 2021” and shared footage of a fiery sun. But Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told The Associated Press that no solar storms are forecast for this week.
A solar flare, which is a kind of solar storm, took place on July 3. Solar flares occur when magnetic fields build up on the sun in the form of sunspots.
When magnetic fields twist and accumulate energy, they can violently release that energy in a flash of light, said Alex Young, a solar physicist at NASA. The July 3 event was the first major eruption in this solar cycle and the brightest in four years.
“We usually get 150 over an 11-year cycle,” Murtaugh said of solar flares. “Fortunately, we are 93 million kilometers from the sun, so we have the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere protecting us from harmful emissions from these flares.”
The July 3 solar flare interfered with some high-frequency communications, but Young said the impact was less than it could have been. “It was really, really slow and it wasn’t all directed towards Earth,” Young said. “We don’t expect to see an impact on Earth.”
AFTER:
- Moon “wobbles”, climate change will cause record flooding in 2030s, NASA says
- Yes, the delta variant is real; no, Donald Trump did not sign an executive order declaring that this is “Fake News”.
[ad_2]
Source link