A solar storm has hit Earth. This event caused the appearance of spectacular aurora lights in several places, even as far as New York City in the United States. But on the other hand, there are also potential risks.
The Sun flare or Tongue of Fire or the term coronal mass ejection (CME), was detected to appear on the Sun on Saturday (9/10). This event coincided with the increase in solar activity or solar maximum.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that this time's solar storm could be categorized as G2, making it quite strong. Solar storms of this scale can have an impact, for example, disruption of satellites, power plants and others. However, when compared to the most extreme scale, namely G5, perhaps the danger is not too detrimental.
Recently, assistant professor at the University of California, Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, in his paper said extreme solar storms could result in an 'internet apocalypse' that would make it difficult for most of the population to connect to the internet for weeks. But this time the Solar Storm did not result in that possibility.
The preparation for extreme solar storms is still minimal because this phenomenon is very rare. Scientists estimate the probability of the occurrence of space weather phenomena that have a direct impact on Earth between 1.6% and 12% per decade.
On the other hand, these natural events also give rise to beautiful aurora lights, usually only visible in highland areas close to the North Pole or South Pole. But so strong, this time the aurora can also be seen in New York, Wisconsin to Washington.
Aurora from central SD last night. pic.twitter.com/oLjeANCTkr
— Randy Halverson (@dakotalapse) October 12, 2021
In South Dakota, a photographer managed to capture this beautiful view of the aurora which was shared on his social media.
NOAA has given early warnings about problems with satellite orientation that may be disturbed, etc. Because in the past, there had been a solar storm that caused quite severe disturbances on Earth.