Solar Storm Alert: 'Cannibal' Solar Plasma Eruption to Hit Earth on Friday, May Affect Electronic Communications

A solar storm alert was issued earlier this week that a "cannibal" solar plasma eruption will hit Earth on Friday, December 1, causing a potential geomagnetic storm that may affect electronic communications. This is according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Under the alert, the cannibal solar storm could disrupt orbiting satellites around our planet, as well as radio frequencies.

The solar eruption involved two solar storm events, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the form of solar plasma on Tuesday, November 28, while it was followed by a related solar explosion on Wednesday, November 29. This is based on models presented by the SWPC on its website. Due to the looming geomagnetic storm, aurora borealis are possible in the northern hemisphere in the coming hours. The magnetic storm could also disrupt the global position system (GPS) and cause radio blackouts.

Solar Storm Alert

In its solar storm alert this week, the SWPC recorded multiple solar activities on Tuesday, stating that eruptions from the Sun involved a CME associated with a flare event. Due to the approaching space storm, the prediction center warned of some of the potential impacts below:

• Weak power grid fluctuations
• Minor impact on satellite operations
• Satellite orientation irregularities
• Aurora in northern tier of the US, particularly northern Michigan and Maine
• Voltage alarms at high-latitude power systems
• Fading radio frequencies at upper latitudes
• Radio blackouts of high frequency radio communications

The said impacts were reported for Tuesday and Wednesday but related geomagnetic storm disruptions may occur on Friday and even during the weekend, based on the SWPC solar storm alert.

Cannibal CME

The cannibal solar storm, in this case the CME, was called as such since it overtakes and consumes the first solar storm prior to its eruption from the Sun. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the solar storm called "Cannibal CMEs" can result in vivid auroras on the night sky while blocking out radio signals.

NASA defines a Cannibal CME as "clouds of electrified, magnetic gas" that weighs billions of tons from the Sun and ejected into space with speeds ranging between 12 and 1,250 miles per second (20 to 2,000 kilometers per second). The US space agency explains that the Cannibal CME or the second out of the two the CMEs is faster than the first, resulting in the overtaking and assimilation of the latter.

Regardless of which comes first, cannibal solar storms can cause geomagnetic storms and radio blackouts, as well as solar radiations. These solar storms can affect living organisms if the space particles have very high energy, such as those coming from powerful solar flares.

Recently, astronomers have warned that the solar maximum of the current Solar Cycle 25 will peak in 2024. This means that solar activities and their associated solar storms will become more frequent.