Solar storm puts on brilliant light show across the globe, but no serious problems reported

by | May 11, 2024 | Science

A powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across the globe overnight but has caused what appeared to be only minor disruptions to the electric power grid, communications and satellite positioning systems.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said extreme geomagnetic storm conditions continued Saturday, and there were preliminary reports of power grid irregularities, degradation of high-frequency communications and global positioning systems.But the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that as of midday Saturday morning, no FEMA region had reported any significant impact from the storms.NOAA predicted that strong flares will continue through at least Sunday, and a spokeswoman said in an email that the agency’s Space Weather Prediction Center had prepared well for the storm.On Saturday morning, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service said on its website that service had been degraded and its team was investigating. CEO Elon Musk wrote on X overnight that its satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far.”Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the Northern Lights were reported worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, China, England, Spain and elsewhere.In the U.S., Friday’s solar storm pushed the lights much further south than normal. The Miami office of the National Weather Service confirmed sightings in the Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Florida, areas. Meteorologist Nick Carr said another forecaster who lives near Fort Lauderdale photographed the lights and was familiar with them because he previously lived in Alaska.People in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and other Midwestern states were able to capture photos of bright colors along the horizon.NOAA said the solar storm will persist throughout the wee …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnA powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across the globe overnight but has caused what appeared to be only minor disruptions to the electric power grid, communications and satellite positioning systems.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said extreme geomagnetic storm conditions continued Saturday, and there were preliminary reports of power grid irregularities, degradation of high-frequency communications and global positioning systems.But the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that as of midday Saturday morning, no FEMA region had reported any significant impact from the storms.NOAA predicted that strong flares will continue through at least Sunday, and a spokeswoman said in an email that the agency’s Space Weather Prediction Center had prepared well for the storm.On Saturday morning, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service said on its website that service had been degraded and its team was investigating. CEO Elon Musk wrote on X overnight that its satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far.”Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the Northern Lights were reported worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, China, England, Spain and elsewhere.In the U.S., Friday’s solar storm pushed the lights much further south than normal. The Miami office of the National Weather Service confirmed sightings in the Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Florida, areas. Meteorologist Nick Carr said another forecaster who lives near Fort Lauderdale photographed the lights and was familiar with them because he previously lived in Alaska.People in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and other Midwestern states were able to capture photos of bright colors along the horizon.NOAA said the solar storm will persist throughout the wee …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
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