Earth is about to get hit by solar winds from the Sun this weekend, as reported by a website that predicts cosmic weather. The upcoming solar event was caused by a hole in the Sun's atmosphere, which is currently facing Earth.
The solar event forecast was provided by Space Weather. The site noted that the approaching solar winds most likely won't cause a geomagnetic storm, but would create a beautiful cosmic light show in the sky.
Coronal Holes And Solar Winds
According to Space Weather, an equatorial hole on the Sun's atmosphere, known as a corona, is currently facing Earth. Equatorial holes, also known as coronal holes, emerge when the density of the plasma on certain regions on the Sun's atmosphere drops. This allows solar particles to escape from the massive star's surface, creating a discharge of fast-moving solar winds.
The escaping solar winds can travel across vast distances in space. Since a new coronal hole is facing Earth, streams of solar winds will directly bombard the planet. Space Weather noted that the solar winds are expected to hit Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere from Saturday to Sunday. "An equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere is facing Earth, and it is spewing a minor stream of solar wind in our direction, estimated time of arrival: Feb. 15-16," the site stated.
Effect Of Solar Winds On Earth
Space Weather noted that the approaching solar winds most likely won't cause destructive geomagnetic storms, which could disrupt electronic devices and GPS navigation on Earth. Sometimes, these geomagnetic storms can also affect the operations of satellites in space. Instead, the upcoming solar event will trigger a mesmerizing light show in the Arctic sky.
"The gaseous material is not expected to cause a geomagnetic storm," Space Weather stated. "Nevertheless, Arctic sky watchers can expect an uptick in polar auroras."
The cosmic light show in the Arctic, also known as northern lights, is officially referred to as aurora borealis. Its southern counterpart is known as aurora australis. These occur when Earth's magnetosphere gets hit by solar winds. As this layer of Earth's atmosphere deflects the highly-charged particles of the solar winds, greenish and bluish lights appear in the sky.
