Solar Tsunami Explosion Results in Full-Halo Solar Storm that Could Hit Earth

On July 21, a solar tsunami eruption, which will result in a full-halo solar storm, threw a cloud of solar plasma as well as other solar particles in the path of the earth.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a specific kind of solar storm that typically develops in the sun's most active regions, where the magnetic fields are particularly potent.

The Sun spits out enormous plumes of plasma when its twisted or warped magnetic field lines abruptly reconfigure themselves.

Large and swift CMEs can travel at rates of up to 4.5 million miles per hour. The material ejected from the sun in a CME can comprise billions of tons of solar atmosphere particles as well as carry an embedded magnetic field.

CMEs are typically not directed at Earth, making them safe for people to be around.

Full-Halo Solar Storm

The "full-halo" CME that occurred on July 21 is anticipated to strike the magnetic field of the planet. Since they appear to flare out around the sun somewhat like a halo in coronagraph imagery, halo events got their name.

"Full-halo" CMEs are directed toward the Earth, and the entire sun's ring appears to glow.

Data from NOAA shows that the resulting geomagnetic storm in the earth's magnetosphere is most likely to be G1-class to G2-class or minor to moderate, though there is a small chance that the storm could intensify to category G3, which is strong.

The power of solar storms ranges from G1 to G5, with G5 being the strongest. More powerful storms are much less common than G1 storms, which are quite common.

Mike Hapgood, a Principal Consultant on Space Weather at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, said that G1 storms do not cause any major problems. G5 storms can cause significant damage. The last G5 was held in October 2003, though.

The densest portion of the CME storm cloud is anticipated to arrive on Earth around 4 a.m., according to NOAA. UTC on July 23 (12 p.m. ET), Newsweek reports.

The CME may cause power grid fluctuations, satellite operations to be interrupted, and changes in the behavior of migratory animals as it collides with the Earth's atmosphere and disrupts the magnetic field.

Auroras

Additionally, it causes the stunning nighttime displays known as the different auroras, or the Northern and Southern lights, which are brought on by the acceleration of solar wind electrons along magnetic field lines in the direction of the Earth's poles.

They collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, causing them to become excited to a higher energy state and releasing their extra energy as a blue-green glow.

The distance from the poles at which this occurs increases with the strength of the geomagnetic storm.

If the approaching storm reaches G3 levels, the auroras may be seen as far south as Illinois and Oregon, according to SpaceWeather.com.