New solar storms could cause geomagnetic storms on Earth, with the appearance of northern lights at fairly low latitudes this Tuesday evening and into Thursday, according to the American organization NOAA.
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 in particular, at much lower latitudes than usual.
Solar storms can be accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), a plasma stream of charged particles that takes up to a few days to reach Earth. Their interaction with the Earth’s magnetic field produces the aurora borealis, which looks like gigantic, undulating, colorful curtains of light.
Four CMEs are currently heading toward Earth, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday evening, and are expected to arrive Tuesday through Thursday.
The strongest activity is expected on Tuesday with a category 3 geomagnetic storm, or “high”, while those in May reached the highest level of category 5.
According to NOAA, the northern lights could be seen across Canada and parts of the northernmost U.S. states.
“With a bit of luck” they could also be visible in northern Europe, England, northern Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, according to the SpaceWeatherLive website.
CMEs not only cause northern lights, they can also damage power and telecommunications networks on Earth.
Solar activity is about to reach its peak in an 11-year cycle. Called the “solar maximum,” it is expected between late 2024 and 2026.
When charged particles from the solar wind encounter the Earth’s magnetic field, they are accelerated toward the magnetic poles. This explains why they are commonly observed at high latitudes.
But if the CMEs are more powerful, these auroras descend further south towards the equator.
The most powerful geomagnetic storm on record, called the Carrington event, occurred in September 1859. It caused electrical surges in telegraph lines sufficient to ignite equipment.