There are hardly any effects and no northern lights after the violent solar flare
The surface of the sun is boiling again. There is a huge solar storm. However, this time there were no visible traces on the ground.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen in the bright flash at lower right — on February 9, 2024. It displays extreme ultraviolet radiation, shown here in turquoise.
Image: NASA/SDO
The US space agency NASA recorded a powerful solar flare. The US space agency NASA announced that one of the most violent solar flares in recent years was observed on Friday with a magnitude of 3.3X.
However, there is no danger to people: given the location of the explosion, the solar storm should not hit the Earth, said astrophysicist Volker Böttmer from the University of Göttingen. As we can see from us, it is located behind the southwestern part of the sun's disk. In short: “There is no great danger to us and no northern lights.” Flares are flashes of light that occur at the point of the Sun's eruption. They are the first visible signs of a solar storm.
However, a solar flare leaves small traces on Earth. This creates positively charged particles (protons) with speeds of more than 1,000 kilometers per second, explains Butmer. They moved toward us along magnetic field lines that were curved like the whirlpool of a rotating lawn sprinkler. “That's why we're magnetically connected to the setting sun.”
The proton flow is caused by a rapid shock wave generated by a solar flare, which then propagates from the Sun into space. Friday's solar flare produced a fairly powerful R3 radiation event. Which may lead to radio failure.
According to Spaceweather.com, one effect of protons is the loss of shortwave radio transmission in the Earth's polar regions. The reason: Earth's magnetic field directs many incoming protons to the poles. There they can cancel radio signals below 30 MHz.
The Sun's activity has been increasing again since December 2019. Approximately every eleven years, in the so-called solar cycle, there are phases of weak and strong activity. The sun is currently approaching its maximum. When solar flares hit Earth, they can affect radio communications, power grids and navigation signals, posing a danger to spacecraft and astronauts, according to NASA.
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