A stream of sun particles traveling from the sun to the earth can lead to technological problems. Solar storms can be detrimental to satellite-based technology, as they can heat the Earth’s outer atmosphere, causing it to expand and making it more difficult for satellite signals to reach the earth.
Experts said solar winds have the highest speed of 600 kilometers per second on their way to Earth, and this could cause a G1 storm.
A G1-class solar storm could lead to ‘weak fluctuations in power grids’ and could have a small impact on satellite operations.
The astronomy website Space Weather said: ‘The earth comes in a stream of solar wind that flows from a northern hole into the atmosphere of the sun.
“Forecasters expect the wind speed to reach above 600 km / s on January 20-21, possibly fast enough to trigger a small G1-class geomagnetic storm. Arctic auroras are likely.”
Auroras, which include northern lights – aurora borealis – and southern lights – aurora australis – are caused when sun particles hit the atmosphere.
As the planet’s magnetosphere is bombarded by solar winds, beautiful lights of different colors can appear in the northernmost and southernmost regions.
Although this storm is expected to have little impact on Earth, scientists have warned that a major technologically crippling solar storm could occur on average every 25 years.
Research from the University of Warwick and the British Antarctic Survey has analyzed the past 14 solar cycles, which are 150 years old.
READ MORE: Solar storm releases particles of 1.8 million km per hour
Lead author Professor Sandra Chapman of the University of Warwick’s Center for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics said: ‘These superstorms are rare events, but estimating their chance of occurrence is an important part of planning the extent of mitigation needed to protect critical national. infrastructure.
“This research proposes a new method of approaching historical data, to give a better picture of the chance of superstorms and what superstorm activity we are likely to see in the future.”
The biggest technologically crippling solar storm occurred in 1859 when an increase in electricity occurred during the current Carrington Event, which was so strong that telegraph systems went down across Europe.
There are also reports that some buildings caught fire as a result of the electrical surge.