SPACE experts are watching out for a new solar flare that could ‘graze’ Earth today.
The flare was originally predicted to hit Earth on Friday 13 but it could cause a solar storm much sooner.
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The experts at SpaceWeather.com explained: “Sunspot AR3007 has a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for strong explosions–and it is almost directly facing Earth.
“NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares on May 12th.”
The predicted solar flare has been labeled as a CME.
A CME is a type of solar flare called a coronal mass ejection.
It’s a huge expulsion of plasma from the Sun’s outer layer, called the corona.
When solar flares hit Earth’s magnetic field, they can cause geomagnetic storms that affect our satellites and the power grid.
A recent solar storm caused radio blackouts around the Atlantic Ocean that lasted for over an hour.
Each solar storm that hits Earth is graded by severity.
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The flares expected today could be M-class flares or X-class flares.
SpaceWeather.com explains: “X-class flares are big; they are major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.
“M-class flares are medium-sized; they can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions.”
Intense flares pose can pose a threat to humans on the International Space Station.
They can be deadly for an astronaut if they result in injury or interfere with mission control communications.
A minor storm can confuse migrating animals that rely on the Earth’s magnetic field for a sense of direction.
Fortunately, the Earth’s magnetic field helps to protect us from the more extreme consequences of solar flares.
Each solar flare is made up of intense electromagnetic radiation that bursts from the Sun every so often and can send a stream of highly charged particles in our direction.
This radiation could be harmful to us if we didn’t have the protection of our magnetic field.
In 1989, a strong solar eruption shot so many electrically charged particles at Earth that the Canadian Province of Quebec lost power for nine hours.
The Sun is currently at the start of a new 11-year solar cycle, which usually sees eruptions and flares grow more intense and extreme.
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