Solar Storm on the Way to Earth
The Sun is essential for most life on Earth, but it also has a more violent and potentially destructive side. Witnessing solar storms is one of the most exhilarating celestial events to observe. But when they are aimed at Earth, the consequences could potentially be very disastrous for our technologically-dependent civilization.
While we haven't had a major solar storm hit us since the mid-1800s, many believe the next "big one" could be absolutely disastrous for our modern world.
A solar storm, is something of an umbrella term for any disturbance in the "normal" activity of the Sun. These events can emanate outward from across the Sun's heliosphere to affect the entire solar system.
They are a natural part of the Sun's 11-year cycle and can last minutes to hours on the Sun's surface. That said, a hole has opened up in the atmosphere of the Sun, allowing for a stream of solar winds to be released. Weather forecasting agencies have confirmed that Earth is about to get hit by a stream of solar winds from the Sun.
Reports about the incoming solar winds were confirmed by cosmic weather forecasting site SpaceWeather.com and the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
According to reports, the approaching solar winds could hit Earth starting on Tuesday (May 19, 2020) until Wednesday. NOAA predicted that the solar activity could extend up to Thursday (May 21).
As explained by NOAA, solar winds appear as plasma that contains protons and electrons. In most cases, solar winds travel across space at speeds of about 500 to 800 kilometres per second. However, the stream of solar winds currently approaching Earth is only moving at speeds on about 350 kilometres per second.
Since solar winds carry highly-charged particles, they will most likely interact with Earth’s magnetic field once they arrive. But, since Earth will only be hit by minor solar winds, SpaceWeather.com noted that the solar event would only create polar auroras in the sky. It most likely won’t cause a geomagnetic storm, which is capable of disrupting radio and satellite communications.
“A minor stream of solar wind is expected to buffet Earth's magnetic field. “The gaseous material is flowing from a small hole in the Sun's atmosphere. Geomagnetic unrest could spark polar auroras, but full-fledged geomagnetic storms are unlikely”
According to NOAA, coronal holes emerge when regions less dense than the surrounding plasma in the corona appear. These events are not actually dangerous to life on Earth, as long as they remain on Earth's surface. Our planet is protected from any major effects of such storms thanks to our protective blanket of atmosphere and magnetic "shield."
Without this protection, life on Earth would be bathed in high-energy particles that could, conceivably, cause radiation poisoning, potentially in fatal doses.
Question is, could such solar wind's ultraviolet radiation be of sufficient celestial longitude to kill microorganisms like COVID-19?
Food for through!