A geomagnetic storm watch will be in place until the end of the week due to the sun possibly affecting the weather.
A recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream from the sun is expected to connect with Earth on Wednesday, when a solar wind field is expected to create minor geomagnetic storm conditions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Geomagnetic responses are likely to escalate to G3 (Strong) conditions on 18 Aug due to the arrival at or near Earth of multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that have departed the Sun since 14 Aug,” NOAA warned. “Despite the numerous CMEs, most are expected to have little to no impact at Earth, however, at least four have potential Earth-directed components.”
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A geomagnetic storm is defined as a major disturbance that results from “variations in the solar wind that produces major changes in the currents, plasmas, and fields in Earth’s magnetosphere,” according to NOAA.
NOAA will have a satellite to detect when a coronal mass ejection is approaching Earth, allowing forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center to give warnings to the public should the situation call for it. The satellite, called DSCOVR, was launched in February 2015 and “maintains the nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities,” according to the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service.
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The most recent reported geomagnetic storm occurred in February. The storm destroyed 40 recently deployed Starlink internet satellites. A total of 49 satellites were launched into space by SpaceX on Feb. 3, but a geomagnetic storm above Earth increased the density of the atmosphere slightly a day later, increasing drag on the satellites and causing 40 of them to reenter Earth’s orbit, according to Space.com.
