Massive solar storm triggers spectacular global light show
Strongest event of its kind to hit Earth in 20 years threatens to disrupt satellites and power grids
The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades has struck Earth, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in skies from Tasmania to Britain – and threatening possible disruptions to satellites and power grids as it persists into the weekend.
The first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun – came just after 4pm on Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Centre in Colorado.
It was later upgraded to an extreme geomagnetic storm – the first since storms in 2003 caused blackouts in Sweden and damaged power infrastructure in South Africa. More CMEs are expected to pummel the planet in the coming days.
Social media lit up with people posting pictures of auroras from northern Europe and Australasia.
“Absolutely biblical skies in Tasmania at 4am this morning. I’m leaving today and knew I could not pass up this opportunity,” Sean O’ Riordan posted on X with a photo.
Authorities notified satellite operators, airlines and power utilities to take precautions against disruptions caused by changes to Earth’s magnetic field.
Unlike solar flares, which travel at the speed of light and reach Earth in around eight minutes, CMEs go at a more sedate pace, with officials putting the current one’s average speed at 800km per second.
They emanated from a sunspot cluster 17 times wider than Earth. The sun is approaching the peak of an 11-year cycle that brings heightened activity.
Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, said that while the effects would be largely felt over the planet’s northern and southern latitudes, how far they would extend would depend on the storm’s final strength.
The NOAA’s Brent Gordon encouraged people to try to capture the night sky with phone cameras even if they could not see auroras with their naked eyes.
“Just go out your back door and take a picture with the newer mobile phones and you’d be amazed at what you see in that picture versus what you see with your eyes.”
Fluctuating magnetic fields associated with geomagnetic storms induce currents in long wires, including power lines, which can lead to blackouts. Long pipelines can also become electrified and take damage.
The most powerful geomagnetic storm in recorded history, known as the Carrington Event and named after British astronomer Richard Carrington, occurred in September 1859.
Excess currents on telegraph lines at that time caused electrical shocks to technicians and even set some telegraph equipment ablaze.