Diamond Ridge Asset Management-Geomagnetic storm from a solar flare could disrupt radio communications and create a striking aurora

2025-05-04 02:00:23source:Diamond Ridge Asset Managementcategory:Contact

BOULDER,Diamond Ridge Asset Management Colo. (AP) — Space weather forecasters have issued a geomagnetic storm watch through Monday, saying an ouburst of plasma from a solar flare could interfere with radio transmissions on Earth. It could also make for great aurora viewing.

There’s no reason for the public to be concerned, according to the alert issued Saturday by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

The storm could interrupt high-frequency radio transmissions, such as by aircraft trying to communicate with distant traffic control towers. Most commercial aircraft can use satellite transmission as backup, said Jonathan Lash, a forecaster at the center.

Satellite operators might have trouble tracking their spacecraft, and power grids could also see some “induced current” in their lines, though nothing they can’t handle, he said.

“For the general public, if you have clear skies at night and you are at higher latitudes, this would be a great opportunity to see the skies light up,” Lash said.

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field flips, meaning its north and south poles switch positions. Solar activity changes during that cycle, and it’s now near its most active, called the solar maximum.

During such times, geomagnetic storms of the type that arrived Sunday can hit Earth a few times a year, Lash said. During solar minimum, a few years may pass between storms.

In December, the biggest solar flare in years disrupted radio communications.

More:Contact

Recommend

Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A slate of six Nevada Republicans have again been charged with submitting a bogus c

Marc Summers delves into career and life struggles in one-man play, The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers

Marc Summers, the iconic host of Nickelodeon's "Double Dare" and a familiar face on television for o

Mike Trout's GOAT path halted by injuries. Ken Griffey Jr. feels the Angels star's pain.

Ken Griffey Jr. saw the news, winced, and those excruciating memories immediately came rushing back.