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A geomagnetic storm warning was issued following three coronal mass ejections (CME) from a giant sunspot. The Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that a minor weather watch was scheduled for May 15-16.
As a result of the storm, the northern regions of the United States may be able to see aurora in the next few nights. A forecast map showing where auroras can be seen can be seen below.
CMEs come from the outside atmosphere of our sun. It is a region that has extremely powerful magnetic fields. When these fields close, they can eject the matter abruptly in a huge explosion: a CME. This material – sometimes a billion tons – is ejected into space, which affects all the objects it encounters.
When a CME explodes in the direction of the Earth, the solar material interacts with the atoms and molecules of our atmosphere. Collisions produce auroras.
The three CMEs responsible for the last geomagnetic storm come from the sunspot group Region 2741. The series started on May 10 and the first two should arrive on May 15. The third is likely to arrive on Earth on May 16th.
"The source location of the CMEs has been associated with the disappearance of solar filaments (DSF) along the magnetic neutral line areas near the unipolar sunspot cluster, the 2741 region," indicates a NOAA press release. .
A solar filament is a long line of colder material that hovers above the solar corona. NASA notes that these filaments can float like this for days before disappearing. "Sometimes they also rush into space, releasing solar material into a shower that falls or escapes into space, thus becoming a moving cloud called coronal mass ejection, or CME "noted the space agency.
Sunspots are temporary areas on the surface of the sun that are darker and colder than the surrounding area – about 4500 degrees less.
According to SpaceWeather, the sunspot at the origin of the last three CMEs seems to disintegrate and is no longer able to produce huge CMEs posing a greater risk to the Earth. When the sun produces large explosions, a strong geomagnetic storm can disrupt GPS systems, satellites and power grids.
For the moment, the sun is in a period of calm called solar minimum. The activity of the sun increases and decreases every 11 years. The maximum of sunshine, when the activity is maximum, sees an increase in the number of sunspots. The next solar maximum is expected to peak around 2024.
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