Massive solar flares headed towards Earth! Geomagnetic storm expected to cause chaos - HT Tech

A massive solar flare is expected to cause geomagnetic storms on Earth in the coming days. Will these have a big impact? Know here.

A small part of the Sun has exploded and this massive energy in the form of solar flares are set to impact Earth soon! Solar flares occur due to explosions of electromagnetic energy taking place on the surface of the Sun. “There is a prominence jutting out from the sun's southwestern limb today. It is so big, astronomers are struggling to squeeze it into a single photograph," Space Weather reported. Now, these huge solar flares are making their way to the Earth at mind-numbing speeds.

According to Space Weather, a large and deep canyon of fire erupted on the Sun, which was around 155,000 miles long, and 15,500 miles deep, and it is expected to spark geomagnetic storms on Earth. A geomagnetic storm is a severe disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere that occurs when energy from the solar wind is transmitted very rapidly into the space environment around the earth.

These solar flares are expected to generate a minor G1-class geomagnetic storms possibly on July 20th or 21st. the massive solar particles that generate geomagnetic storms on Earth were hurled into space by an unstable filament of magnetism, which erupted on July 15th, Space Weather mentioned.

Will these geomagnetic storms have any impact on Earth? Generally, some of the geomagnetic storms can cause radio blackouts, even a strong geomagnetic storm can knock out the Internet and the mobile phone connectivity along with the electricity grid. However, physicist Cameron Patterson of Lancaster University mentioned to Express.co.uk that such space weather disruptions can even induce electrical currents that can interfere with operation of signalling systems. For example, turning green signals red when there is no train nearby! “While we usually connect these faults to rain, snow and leaves on the line, you may not have considered that the Sun can also cause railway signals to malfunction," he added. Interference with electrical signals of railway systems can cause horrifying accidents, researchers warned.

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