A ‘Canyon of Fire’ Erupted Out of the Sun's Atmosphere

Powerful streams of magnetized solar wind were released in the sun's surface on Sunday, 3 April, potentially bringing more auroras to Earth later this week. The solar filament that escaped from a fiery canyon was said to be at least 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers) deep and 10 times as long.

According to LiveScience, the 'canyon of fire' opened on the sun will bring intense solar wind toward Earth.

"A dark filament of magnetism just whipsawed out of the sun's atmosphere, carving a gigantic canyon of fire," Spaceweather reported. Moreover, the sunspot AR2975 which exploded on Saturday, 2 April had produced a long-duration M4-class solar flare. "Although the sunspot was not directly facing Earth, it might have hurled some debris in our direction."

Subsequently, on Monday, 4 April, at about 5 p.m. EDT, the second filament blasted from the sun. The eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun's upper atmosphere or the corona, said the UK Weather forecaster Met office. They confirmed that the two "filament eruptions" occurred in the south-central part of the sun.

Wreaking Havoc the Earth's Magnetic Field

Powerful geomagnetic storms produced as CME hits Earth can damage satellites and electronics in space. We may not physically feel it, but these storms disrupt communication and power networks on the ground, including high frequency radio communications as the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation they emit ionize the upper part of Earth's atmosphere. On the bright side, it displays the mesmerizing auroras in some parts of the world.

According to Spaceweather, the Sunday's eruption will reach Earth at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 6 April, causing mild geomagnetic storm, with level G1 or G2 on a five-point scale. However, it is unknown when the CME of the Monday's eruption will hit earth.

Nonetheless, polar lights will be vibrant in the next days, farther away from the polar regions than usual.

Solar Activity to Pick Up in the Coming Years

The MET Office said that the Earth's geomagnetic environment may be quieter in the coming days due to the overactive sunspot that caused the recent eruptions rotating away from Earth.

Scientists expect solar activity to peak around July 2025, according to National Weather Service. Currently, solar activity is relatively subdued as the sun has just awaken from a prolonged solar minimum, a phase in its 11-year cycle of activity with barely any sunspots.

"How quickly solar activity rises is an indicator on how strong the solar cycle will be," said Doug Biesecker, Ph.D., panel co-chair and a solar physicist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. "Although we've seen a steady increase in sunspot activity this year, it is slow."

While activity on the sun has steadily increased in the past eight months, there is no current indication that we are approaching a "Maunder-type minimum in solar activity".

"While we are not predicting a particularly active Solar Cycle 25, violent eruptions from the Sun can occur at any time," Biesecker added.