A “geomagnetic” solar storm is about to hit Earth. What could happen, and the risks for Europe too
Solar storm on earth It will be the special Halloween that created the space for us. Earth could be tonight hit by a geomagnetic storm G3 class (among the strongest). The impending alert was triggered by NASA. The “glow” that causes the solar storm, formally known as coronal mass ejection (CME), was observed last Thursday on the side of the Sun directly facing our planet at a speed of more than 1,260 km/s. Results? It can vary, from light ones, with the amazing phenomenon of the aurora borealis, to more serious ones with problems with satellites, interference in radio communications and electronic devices, up to a blackout. In South America, the event has already caused a shortwave radio blackout. The most likely consequences will be the aurora borealis, visible with the naked eye even at 50 latitude, and therefore also from Europe, such as Belgium, or in the United States from Oregon. And weaker storms can follow each other in the following days, when the Earth will cross successive waves of the CME.
