The consequences of the eerie smile from the Sun on October 26 have just reached Earth, manifesting as bright flares causing a G1 geomagnetic storm.
According to NASA, our planet will be “hit” during this weekend, specifically on October 29 and 30, depending on the time zone.
As usual, these energetic flares originate from cosmic “gun barrels” known as “sunspots.” This time, in a Halloween spirit, three sunspots have formed the image of a spooky smiley face, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on October 26.
The spooky smiley face preparing to unleash energy towards Earth – (Photo: SDO/NASA).
According to Live Science, this smile is directed straight at Earth, meaning it will send powerful streams of energy in the form of solar wind, carrying charged particles, into space at speeds exceeding 1.6 million km/h.
Typically, flares, or larger phenomena like coronal mass ejections (CMEs), take several days to reach Earth.
These cosmic gun barrels appear black in observational images because they are cooler than the surrounding areas, where the magnetic fields are extremely chaotic, frequently releasing energy streams.
This geomagnetic storm will be relatively small, classified as G1. However, it is sufficient to cause disruptions for satellites in orbit as well as minor glitches in power grids and telecommunications systems, such as occasional shortwave radio outages.
The good news is that it will push the auroras closer to the Earth’s surface, so you’ll have a spectacular Halloween night if you live in an area where the auroras are visible.
