A Northern lights This morning the sky in different areas of the Spanish territory was lit up with red colours. It has been seen in places like Calar Alto Observatoryin Jirgal (Almeria) or in the mountainous area of Oldeter, after the impact of a powerful geomagnetic storm caused by two coronal mass ejections emanating from the Sun. As the observatory reported, the eruptions left active zone 4274 from the Sun almost simultaneously in the early hours of Monday and sent Magnetized plasma clouds At a speed approaching 1,500 kilometers per second.
The material reached Earth’s atmosphere early WednesdayGenerating a G4 level geomagnetic storm, considered “severe”, with a Kp index between 8 and 9. The observatory’s sensitive cameras recorded a “spectacular” red aurora above the northern horizon for a few hours, one of the brightest phenomena observed from Andalusian latitudes along with the May 2024 episode.
This phenomenon cannot be seen with the naked eye due to the presence of the waning moon and the subsequent arrival of clouds, although the Scientific Center stated that when the sun is at its most active, New similar episodes are not excluded. Located at an altitude of more than 2,100 meters in the Sierra de los Filabres, Calar Alto also maintains a joint program with the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) within the SMART project for the detection of meteors and luminous atmospheric phenomena.
A “severe” solar storm.
A solar storm, classified as a “solar storm” by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Severe“, hits Earth’s magnetic field on Wednesday, so off they go Notifications to infrastructure operators It is crucial to try to mitigate potential harmful effects.
The various alert levels established by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center range from “G1” (minor) to “G5” (severe); Those set for today have arrived Alert level “G4” (severe) Due to the current geomagnetic storm, which occurs when particles ejected by the Sun collide with the Earth’s electromagnetic field.
On some occasions, these solar storms occur Affect communications on the ground Only in extreme cases can they affect electrical systems, in addition to causing the northern lights to increase in intensity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported through its social networks and on its website that the “heart” of the solar storm that began several days ago with low alert levels is currently passing over the Earth and will continue to do so over the next few hours.
According to the National Geographic Institute (IGN) – affiliated with the Ministry of Transport of the Spanish government – geomagnetic storms are disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field, which They last from several hours to a few daysIt results from a sudden increase in particles emitted by solar explosions that reach the magnetosphere, leading to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
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