(Washington) The Earth was hit Monday by an intense geomagnetic storm that could persist into the night and bring its share of northern lights, an American agency announced.
Conditions corresponding to a level 4 geomagnetic storm on a scale of 5 were observed Monday as of 11 a.m. ET, according to a specialized center attached to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
These conditions “could persist through this evening,” but are not expected to increase further in intensity, NOAA added in a statement.
Such an event “could cause faint auroras to appear as far away as Alabama and northern California,” the agency said.
This new solar storm is caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), explosions of particles that leave the Sun. When these particles reach Earth, they disrupt its magnetic field.
“There are a lot of auroras out right now… If it holds until nightfall here, we might be able to see some,” Eric Lagadec, an astrophysicist at the Côte d’Azur Observatory in France, wrote on X.
On Sunday, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick had already published on X a superb photo of the aurora borealis taken from the International Space Station, where he is currently located.
But geomagnetic storms can also bring undesirable effects. For example, they can degrade high-frequency communications, disrupt satellites, and cause overloads on the electrical grid. Operators of sensitive infrastructure have been notified to implement measures to limit these effects, NOAA said.
In May, the planet experienced the most powerful geomagnetic storms recorded in 20 years. They caused northern lights to light up the night sky in the United States, Europe and Australia, especially at much lower latitudes than usual.
This type of event has increased recently, as the Sun is currently close to its peak activity, according to a cycle that occurs every 11 years.