Solar Storm from Sun's Atmospheric Hole Releases Geomagnetic Storm to Hit Earth on August 3

A solar storm from a hole in the atmosphere of the Sun released a geomagnetic storm which has been projected to hit Earth on Wednesday, August 3.

The prediction is made by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The solar outburst triggered a G-1 class geomagnetic storm, which is relatively weak compared to other categories out of SWPC's five-tier scale of space weather events.

However, it can still hit our planet's magnetic field, disrupting both radio and satellite technology, as well as affecting navigation with the global positioning system (GPS).

In recent months, our solar system's only star has generated multiple storms amid its increasing solar activity under the current Solar Cycle 25.

With space weather experts predicting the cycle peaking by 2025, solar storms, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are also likely to elevate.

Solar storms with normal intensity have reportedly no significant impact to human life and other species on the planet.

However, in addition to electric infrastructure, experts claimed that an extreme solar storm is capable enough to cause harmful health hazards or even death to living organisms.

Solar Storm Alert

Space weather forecasters from the SWPC said there is a chance for geomagnetic storms to hit the Blue Planet on Wednesday when a high-speed solar wind is anticipated to pass through Earth's magnetic field.

This comes after a solar storm led to the release of a gaseous material from the southern hole of the Sun's atmosphere, as cited by spaceweather.com.

The site mentioned an unidentified explosion occurred behind the star's northeastern limb on Sunday, July 31.

It added that satellites orbiting Earth recorded a moderate solar flare.

It also reported that the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration observed debris flying away from the blast site.

Coronal Holes and Solar Winds

Coronal holes are regions of the Sun's upper atmosphere where electrified gas is relatively cooler and less dense.

The holes are also locations where the Sun's magnetic field lines beam outward into space, according to the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, as cited by Live Science.

The museum added that the solar emission result in a torrent that travels in space up to 1.9 million miles per hour (2.9 million kilometers per hour).

Furthermore, coronal holes appear as dark areas located in the solar corona in "extreme ultraviolet (EUV)" and "soft x-ray solar images" due to their relatively low temperature, according to the SWPC.

The openings are compared to their surrounding plasma regions that are open and have unipolar magnetic fields.

The open magnetic field line structure allows solar wind to escape more easily into space.

This type of solar storm is often referred to as a "high speed stream" due to its streams of relatively fast solar wind, the US space weather agency added.

According to NASA, the solar wind is comparatively weaker than the wind on Earth, although it is extremely faster since it can travel approximately between 1-2 million miles per hour. They only get weaker due to their small amount.