Solar Storm Warning: X1 Solar Flare Reported on May 10, Radio Blackout Alert Issued

Solar storms are heading to Earth once again after the Sun released an X1 solar flare this week.

Space weather authorities have issued a major solar storm alert.

This time, the greatest solar storm risk will be in the form of radio blackouts, which were responsible for disrupting radio frequencies before.

Our solar system's star is currently on its Solar Cycle 25.

With this, increased solar activities have been forecasted in the coming years, with a peak in 2025. These solar phenomena are associated with solar storms, which release solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and solar winds, among others.

X1 Solar Flare

On Tuesday, May 10, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated an X1 solar flare occurred at 01:55 p.m. UTC, describing it as impulsive that can likely impact high frequency (HF) radio communication in the sunlit side of the Earth.

This side reportedly covers most parts of the Atlantic Ocean, some portions of North America and South America, western Africa, and Europe.

The source of the X1 flare came from the so-called "NOAA/SWPC Region 3006" located in the southern solar hemisphere where a moderate number of complex sunspot group is situated.

Also Read: Solar Storm Alert: Sun Releases Powerful Solar Flare from Sunspot, Causes Radio Blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe

Radio Blackouts and CMEs

In addition to radio blackouts, the SWPC said the United States Air Force (USAF) also observed and reported radio signatures were linked with potential CME.

However, the SWPC was still awaiting the latest coronagraph imagery to confirm and analyze any potential CMEs.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there are instances where CMEs are associated with solar flares but they can occur independently following a solar outburst.

A large CME can contain billion tons of matter with a speed of up to several million miles per hour (mph).

The charged particles of CMEs can disrupt devices, equipment, and systems that rely on satellite technology.

Nevertheless, the said space weather event is only the initial trigger point of such disruption, which transpires after a geomagnetic storm from the CME hits the magnetosphere of the Earth.

A geomagnetic storm reportedly affects some of the following technological infrastructures upon hitting our planet:

Navigation systems
Telecommunications
Global position system (GPS)
Satellite communication
Satellite signal
Power grids

Solar Storm Impacts

Over recent months, previous solar storms have released powerful solar flares and CMEs heading toward our planet.

In some cases, there have been reports of radio blackouts in Australia, the Western Pacific, and eastern Asia, according to Space.com.

Related cases were also reported in Europe and North America.

In October 2003, a massive solar storm struck several regions of Earth, including North America.

This space weather event will later be known as the Halloween Storms of 2003, as coined by NASA.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cited a report from the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee in 2003, stating a geomagnetic storm that year caused a blackout across the US, prompting some retail banking operations to be closed for two days.

In addition, the OECD also extracted a report from the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee in 2009, stating that major geomagnetic storms on US power grids can have lasting effects of up to several years; which pose the risk of being the most catastrophic natural disaster that could impact the United States.