The consequences of violent solar flares could hit Earth this weekend. Geomagnetic storms in categories G1 (minor) to G2 (moderate) are expected during Saturday and Sunday, the US Space Weather Forecast Center wrote on its website.
G2 storms can therefore lead, among other things, to the alignment of spacecraft having to be corrected by ground control. Additionally, at higher latitudes, certain types of radio traffic may be affected. Damage to transformers of power grids is also possible there. Northern lights could also be seen far south of the North Pole region.
The cause of the geomagnetic storms is said to be so-called coronal mass ejections from the sun on Thursday and Friday. A plasma cloud consisting of electrons, protons and certain atomic nuclei is thrown into space.
According to the forecast center, one of the strongest solar flares ever recorded occurred on Thursday. The event had already affected certain radio communications on Thursday.
The sun’s activity has been increasing again since December 2019. Approximately every eleven years, in a so-called solar cycle, there are phases of weak and strong activity. The sun is currently approaching a maximum.
