The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) confirmed late on Monday night that a severe geomagnetic storm has reached Earth, escalating to G4 level, which is classified as severe storm conditions. The space agency said that the storm is expected to continue throughout Tuesday, with G1 to G3 conditions likely and the possibility of further G4 levels as solar activity intensifies. According to Sansa, geomagnetic storm conditions are expected to increase over the next 24 hours following the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME) directed at Earth.
A CME, Sansa explained, is a massive cloud of hydrogen ions that is ejected from the surface of the sun when stored energy is suddenly released. “The CME produces a cloud of high-energy particles travelling at supersonic speeds (500–2000km per second). When a CME is ejected towards Earth, it reaches us within a day or two.
The impact of the CME on the Earth causes a disturbance to the Earth’s magnetic field.” The CME was triggered by a prolonged burst of light from the Sun, known as a solar flare, which occurred on Sunday. Solar flares are ranked in five categories, A, B, C, M and X, with A-class being the weakest and X-class the most powerful. The sun erupted with a severe X1.9 solar flare on Sunday evening.
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However, SANSA said the African region was not affected by high-frequency radio blackouts because the flare occurred at night, when its impact is limited. Sansa warned that the CME is expected to affect Earth from the early hours of Tuesday. “This impact will interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and cause a geomagnetic storm. The geomagnetic storm could reach G4/Severe storm conditions,” the agency said.
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