Solar storm hits Earth, triggers blackout warning: What is it? How it may disrupt power, navigation, communication

A major solar storm has hit the world’s northern hemisphere, triggering warnings related to a potential blackout. The rare space activity may also disrupt power supply, navigation systems and lead to breakdown of satellite-based communication.

According to the US Space Weather Prediction Center, an “extreme geomagnetic storm” is underway. This was a result of the energy from the sun colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field.

While the solar storm has sparked blackout concerns, it has also mesmerised sky-gazers with a dazzling display of the Northern Lights across the United States, as well as some parts of Europe.

The solar outburst was recorded around Friday afternoon in the US, and by 6:54 pm (New York time), it was categorised as a G5 storm by the US Space Weather Prediction Center. G5 is the highest mark on the center’s five-step scale to measure the severity of a solar storm.

What is a solar storm?

Solar radiation storms occur when a large-scale magnetic eruption, often causing a coronal mass ejection and associated solar flare, accelerates charged particles in the solar atmosphere to very high velocities, as per a note shared on the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The most important particles are protons which can get accelerated to large fractions of the speed of light.

At these velocities, the protons can traverse the 150 million km from sun to Earth in just 10’s of minutes or less. When they reach Earth, the fast moving protons penetrate the magnetosphere that shields Earth from lower energy charged particles.

Once inside the magnetosphere, the particles are guided down the magnetic field lines and penetrate into the atmosphere near the north and south poles.

What risks solar storms pose?

Solar radiation storms cause several impacts near Earth. When energetic protons collide with satellites or humans in space, they can penetrate deep into the object that they collide with and cause damage to electronic circuits or biological DNA.

During the more extreme solar radiation storms, passengers and crew in high flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk, the NOAA said.

Also, when the energetic protons collide with the atmosphere, they ionize the atoms and molecules thus creating free electrons. These electrons create a layer near the bottom of the ionosphere that can absorb high frequency radio waves making radio communication difficult or impossible.

Will communication, power, navigation be disrupted?

The solar storm holds the potential to disrupt the functioning of satellites, which in turn could lead to an interim breakdown of satellite-based communications and navigation systems.

“Major geomagnetic solar storm is happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far,” said billionaire Elon Musk, whose space company SpaceX provides Starlink – a satellite-based internet connectivity service.

The solar storm has sparked concern about a potential blackout, as a similar storm in 2003 had disrupted the power lines in Sweden. However, NOAA experts said a similar outcome is unlikely, as the power lines used for electricity supply to households would not be damaged.

It could damage the high-voltage transmission lines used in power grids, but not the electrical lines found in homes, news agency AP reported NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl as saying.