US hit by blackouts as sun releases colossal burst of radiation... and experts warn more is to come
A powerful solar flare erupted from the sun on Tuesday, prompting warnings from NASA about potential blackouts and communication disruptions.
The solar flare, classified as an X1.2 flare, one of the most severe types, exploded from the sun's Earth-facing side at around 6pm ET.
'X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about their strength,' NASA shared in a release.
The eruption unleashed a burst of ionizing radiation, magnetic energy and heat capable of interfering with technology on Earth.
Dr Tamitha Skov, an independent space weather physicist, said the flare's impact was strongest in the western hemisphere, affecting areas including the US West Coast, Alaska, eastern Russia, the Asia-Pacific region and potentially New Zealand.
Almost immediately, the flare triggered a shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean, with ham radio operators in Hawaii reporting sudden signal loss.
NASA and other space weather agencies are now closely monitoring sunspot region 4114, the source of the flare. Sunspots are cooler than other parts of the surface.
Sunsport 4114 is expected to remain active in the coming days, and scientists warn that another major flare could erupt as soon as today.
'Another flare may be in the offing today. Sunspot 4114 is large and unstable, with a 'delta-class' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong explosions,' the team at SpaceWeather.com shared.
A delta-class magnetic field is like a pressure cooker of magnetic energy on the sun, and it is often a warning sign that a big solar flare is to come.
Officials said in a Wednesday update that the solar flare likely came with a huge burst of charged solar particles, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), which will take about 15 to 72 hours to reach Earth.
A G1 geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for Friday, which is the least powerful on the scale of five.
However, it has the potential to cause minor fluctuations in power grids, slight impacts on satellite operations and make the aurora borealis visible at high latitudes.
In May, experts revealed they conducted an extreme space weather scenario and found Earth may not survive.
They conducted a 'solar storm emergency drill', simulating what would happen if a major geomagnetic storm hit our planet.
Results showed power grids failed, blackouts were triggered and communication broke down across the US.
Dr Tamitha Skov, an independent space weather physicist, said the flare's impact was strongest in the western hemisphere, affecting areas including the US West Coast, Alaska, eastern Russia, the Asia-Pacific region and potentially New Zealand
The exercise ran four simulations of geomagnetic storms of different severities.
One scenario included a 'solar superstorm', strong enough to cause an 'internet apocalypse,' resulting in power grid disruptions across the entire US, with the eastern seaboard experiencing blackouts, which lasted for weeks.
Not only were power grids impacted, but railways and pipelines were also knocked offline, causing mass disruptions of travel and dramatic price increases of gas.
Scientists are now calling for a whole-of-government planning approach, arguing it will be critical for protecting America from cosmic disaster.
That would include deploying more satellites to monitor space weather, enhancing real-time data collection to improve forecasting models and providing earlier warnings.
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