Solar Storm Alert: Geomagnetic Storms are Likely on July 13 Due to Combination of Coronal Hole High-Speed Stream and Coronal Mass Ejection

Geomagnetic storms due to a combination of coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS) and a coronal mass ejection (CME) are expected to hit Earth on Wednesday, July 13, according to a warning by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

The warning came after a giant sunspot released a solar outburst in the form of solar flares capable of causing blackouts on Earth.

In recent months, similar events have led to reported blackouts in Southeast Asia and Australia, as well as in Europe.

Solar Storm Alert

The SWPC said storm conditions are possible against on Wednesday as a result of the additional positive polarity of CH HSS influences.

CH HSS, or coronal holes, resemble as dark areas within the solar corona. They are considered cooler and less dense regions than the plasma and other surrounding regions.

While there are no radio blackouts observed in the past 24 hours, the US space weather agency said geomagnetic storms, as well as solar radiation storms, are set to hit the Blue Planet in the next 24 hours and could continue until Thursday, July 14, and Friday, July 15.

What is a Coronal Mass Ejection?

Shortly called as CME or CMEs, these types of solar storms, along with solar flares, are known as an intense outburst of high energy particles from the Sun.

According to the SWPC, CMEs are "large expulsions" containing plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's corona region, releasing billions of tons of "coronal material" stronger than an interplanetary magnetic field strength.

While planets, at least in our solar system, have their own magnetic fields.

These so-called invisible force fields in the Sun are violent and dynamic due to its magnetic field lines, which tangle together at certain points.

This magnetic entanglement is what causes a solar storm, where some comes out from sunspots from our solar system's red giant star.

Solar Activity and Solar Cycle

Our Sun is currently in the Solar Cycle 25, where solar activity is expected to peak in 2025.

The cycle goes through an 11-year phase, where the starting stage is marked by a relatively low solar activity and is called a solar minimum.

Meanwhile, its end is called a solar maximum, where the Sun is engulfed with a myriad of sunspots and solar outbursts.

Details of the current cycle have been laid out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during a press release in September 2020.

Both US space and weather agencies co-sponsored an international expert committee dubbed as the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, which announced that Solar Cycle 25 and its solar minimum started in December 2019.

Regardless of the solar phase, solar storms emit one or simultaneous space weather hazards or events such as: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms, and radio blackouts.

These space storms often disrupt Earth's radio and satellite technology, disrupting frequencies, signals, and even the global positioning system (GPS).