‘Cannibal solar storm’ on its way to Earth
Astronomers say they are watching for a powerful geomagnetic storm to hit on Sept. 1, and in some parts of the world, it will be a sight to see. FOX 10’s Ashlie Rodriguez reports.
PHOENIX – It’s been rather “stormy” lately in the Phoenix area.
On Aug. 24, a powerful monsoon storm made its way across the Valley, and on Sept. 1, a so-called “cannibal solar storm” could hit Earth.
The backstory:
Astronomers say they’re watching for a geomagnetic storm to hit, and are expecting it will be a sight to see, although not as bright in Arizona.
The storm is called a “cannibal solar storm,” because the sun is expected to release two solar ejections, and one will engulf the other, or eat it. The result is a massive, chaotic cloud of plasma that some will crane their necks to witness.
“It is en route,” said Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center. “There are things that we look for that tell us that something is moving through space, and we are seeing indications that this is getting pretty close.”
Big picture view:
The Space Weather Prediction Center says an ejection erupted from the sun on Saturday, and may be traveling over 2 million miles per hour toward Earth, hitting our atmosphere by late afternoon Monday (Eastern Standard Time).
The hope is the storm will trigger a magnetic storm, sparking a northern lights display – an aurora borealis effect – painting the skies in colorful and glowing greens, purples and pinks, something McCarthy craves.
“When these high energy particles hit the atmosphere in these big waves, suddenly everything just lights up and it moves in real time like most of the videos you see aren’t time-lapses, it actually does move that fast, almost like water,” McCarthy said.
What they’re saying:
McCarthy traveled all the way to Canada to catch the aurora created by a powerful solar storm last May.
“There’s a chance that we could see something here in Arizona. I’m definitely going to be going outside tonight, with my camera, and trying to see if I can see any hint of a red glow in the sky, because that’s really indicative of this aurora getting pushed down to southern latitudes,” McCarthy said.
The other side:
Solar storms are sought after for their beauty, but there’s power in their flares. Although they’re not directly dangerous to people on Earth, they can cause havoc on technology.
One area of concern is “the electric power grid – we call pretty much the entire power grid of North America,” Dahl said.
From damaging power grids and causing widespread power outages to short-circuiting satellites and disrupting GPS and communication systems, the storms can have a significant impact on flights. It’s the job of the Space Weather Prediction Center to prepare the country, and astronauts in space, for what could happen if a solar storm scales up to a G3 force or higher.
“The heart of the whole situation is the orientation of that magnetic field in the CME. But if it turns or goes south, then you connect. Then all that energy drives these forces and we can really escalate quickly in these geomagnetic storms,” Dahl said.
What you can do:
The aurora is supposed to be most visible in the northern states, but you can watch the solar storm in real time at spaceweather.gov.
The storm is expected to last into tomorrow, so don’t be surprised if your GPS is acting funky.