Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A plume of "dark plasma" from the sun is expected to be overtaken by a "cannibal" solar burst that may cause an aurora display visible throughout large portions of the United States on Thursday. The first "dark plasma explosion" was first seen on Sunday after erupting from a sunspot on the sun's surface at a speed of 1.3 million mph, tearing through the sun's atmosphere and creating a coronal mass ejection, or CME, Spaceweather.com wrote. Advertisement CMEs are clouds of charged matter known as plasma that are ejected by the sun when tangled magnetic field lines abruptly shift and release large amounts of energy. They occur frequently, but can interact with the Earth's magnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms if they're launched in our direction. Geomagnetic storms can interfere with radio navigation and cause power grid fluctuations. RELATED Scientists believe asteroids may have carried water to Earth On Monday, a second CME was created by the collapse of a gigantic magnetic filament and was also launched from the sun. The second eruption is forecast to become more energetic and ultimately faster than the first, overtaking it in a process known as CME cannibalization. Advertisement
A CH HSS is likely to lead to G1 levels on 17 Aug. Also, a CME, which left the Sun on 14 Aug, is expected to arrive as a glancing blow on 18 Aug. While, forecast confidence of an Earth-directed component to the CME is low-moderate, confidence in timing & intensity is lower. pic.twitter.com/mJIBTQRDjU— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) August 15, 2022 When the cannibal CME reaches Earth, it was expected to cause a G3 geomagnetic storm -- which occurs when planets with strong magnetic fields, such as Earth, absorb solar debris from CMEs. Geomagnetic storms are classified from G1 to G5 according to severity. A G3 is considered a strong storm. G3 storms can cause intermittent problems for low-frequency and satellite navigation, increased drag on low-Earth orbit satellites and may require some power systems to make voltage corrections. RELATED Scientists detect newborn planet that could be forming moons The storms don't usually cause much trouble for humans' ordinary lives, but severe storms can create things like power grid blackouts. Earlier this year, a geomagnetic storm affected several SpaceX satellites and effectively led them to fall back to Earth. Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, predicted that Thursday's geomagnetic storm will be minor and will not cause significant disruption. Advertisement The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also forecast that the storm could cause visible northern lights, or aurora borealis, to be visible in the U.S. mainland. The northern lights could be seen as far south as Illinois and Oregon, which is well outside their normal realm. Read More New study of moon rocks finds they contain gases from Earth Topics Space Latest Headlines Science News // 19 hours ago NASA identifies 13 potential Artemis III landing sites for human return to moon Aug. 19 (UPI) -- NASA on Friday identified landing sites near the moon's southern pole for Artemis III -- the United States' first manned mission to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. Science News // 19 hours ago Study: Medieval British friars had more intestinal worms than general population Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The remains of dozens of medieval British Augustine friars discovered by the University of Cambridge were plagued with twice the parasitic intestinal worms of the general population at the time, a new study found. Science News // 21 hours ago Scientists say they have found low-cost way to destroy cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Scientists say they have found a way to eliminate, for the first time, cancer causing "forever chemicals" in everyday items like food packaging, non-stick frying pans, and women's makeup. Science News // 22 hours ago 45 years after launch, NASA's Voyager probes still blazing trails billions of miles away Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Forty-five years ago, NASA launched the first part of its most ambitious deep space mission in its history -- Voyager 2, which is still communicating with scientists on Earth following a 12 billion-mile journey. Science News // 1 day ago Scientists believe second asteroid may have contributed to dinosaur extinction Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Scientists now believe more than one asteroid could have impacted Earth, contributing to the extinction of dinosaurs, according to new research. Science News // 2 days ago Spacewalk cut short by equipment failure Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Russian astronaut's spacewalk outside the International Space Station was cut short Wednesday after experiencing an electrical problem with his suit. Science News // 2 days ago Northern lights could glow over northern U.S. Wednesday night will feature the rare opportunity to see the glow of the aurora from the United States, but cloudy conditions could obscure the sky during the height of the celestial light show. Science News // 2 days ago National Academy of Sciences sanctions White House climate official for ethics violation Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has sanctioned White House official Jane Lubchenco, and barred her from working on publications or programs for the academy for five years, for violating its ethical code of conduct. Science News // 2 days ago NASA's Artemis 1 rocket completes prelaunch rollout Aug. 17 (UPI) -- NASA's Space Launch System rocket completed its rollout to the launch pad Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of an uncrewed flight later this month and future plans to send humans back to the moon. Science News // 2 days ago Moon, Mars to make celestial rendezvous in early-morning sky Saturn has been a popular planet for stargazers this month as it reached its peak brightness on Sunday, but astronomy fans' attention will shift to another easy-to-spot planet on Friday: Mars.Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A plume of "dark plasma" from the sun is expected to be overtaken by a "cannibal" solar burst that may cause an aurora display visible throughout large portions of the United States on Thursday.
The first "dark plasma explosion" was first seen on Sunday after erupting from a sunspot on the sun's surface at a speed of 1.3 million mph, tearing through the sun's atmosphere and creating a coronal mass ejection, or CME, Spaceweather.com wrote. Advertisement
CMEs are clouds of charged matter known as plasma that are ejected by the sun when tangled magnetic field lines abruptly shift and release large amounts of energy. They occur frequently, but can interact with the Earth's magnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms if they're launched in our direction.
Geomagnetic storms can interfere with radio navigation and cause power grid fluctuations. RELATED Scientists believe asteroids may have carried water to Earth
On Monday, a second CME was created by the collapse of a gigantic magnetic filament and was also launched from the sun.
The second eruption is forecast to become more energetic and ultimately faster than the first, overtaking it in a process known as CME cannibalization. Advertisement
A CH HSS is likely to lead to G1 levels on 17 Aug. Also, a CME, which left the Sun on 14 Aug, is expected to arrive as a glancing blow on 18 Aug. While, forecast confidence of an Earth-directed component to the CME is low-moderate, confidence in timing & intensity is lower. pic.twitter.com/mJIBTQRDjU— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) August 15, 2022A CH HSS is likely to lead to G1 levels on 17 Aug. Also, a CME, which left the Sun on 14 Aug, is expected to arrive as a glancing blow on 18 Aug. While, forecast confidence of an Earth-directed component to the CME is low-moderate, confidence in timing & intensity is lower. pic.twitter.com/mJIBTQRDjU— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) August 15, 2022
When the cannibal CME reaches Earth, it was expected to cause a G3 geomagnetic storm -- which occurs when planets with strong magnetic fields, such as Earth, absorb solar debris from CMEs.
Geomagnetic storms are classified from G1 to G5 according to severity. A G3 is considered a strong storm.
G3 storms can cause intermittent problems for low-frequency and satellite navigation, increased drag on low-Earth orbit satellites and may require some power systems to make voltage corrections. RELATED Scientists detect newborn planet that could be forming moons
The storms don't usually cause much trouble for humans' ordinary lives, but severe storms can create things like power grid blackouts. Earlier this year, a geomagnetic storm affected several SpaceX satellites and effectively led them to fall back to Earth.
Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, predicted that Thursday's geomagnetic storm will be minor and will not cause significant disruption. Advertisement
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also forecast that the storm could cause visible northern lights, or aurora borealis, to be visible in the U.S. mainland.
The northern lights could be seen as far south as Illinois and Oregon, which is well outside their normal realm.