The strongest solar storm since 2003 causes the northern lights in central Europe. Weather services warn of deficiencies in navigation and positioning.
According to the US agency, Earth is currently experiencing the first stage “Extreme” solar storm since 2003. solar storm Fifth on a five-point scale was observed on Friday evening, according to the Space Weather Forecast Center of the United States National Weather Service and Oceanic Administration (NOAA).
The solar storm is expected to last through the weekend. The solar storm brought impressive results in Austria and across Europe Northern Lights outside.
However, NOAA warned of disruptions. May be affected by:
- GPS,
- electrical grids,
- spaceships,
- Satellite penetration
- and other technologies
Authorities notified satellite and power grid operators and airlines to take precautions against possible disruptions.
Impressive pictures of the Northern Lights in Austria
In addition to the potential disturbances, solar storms produce impressive northern lights. These are sometimes found considerably further south than they are normally found.
Also from Switzerland The Northern Lights were reported. Due to a strong geomagnetic storm, these were visible as far as Swiss latitudes, the Weather and Climatology Office (MeteoSwiss) reported on Friday evening.
They are not dangerous to Earth, but they are to the high-tech world.
Solar storms are caused by explosions on stars. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), high-energy particles and plasma weighing billions of tons are thrown into space and rapidly travel 150 million kilometers toward Earth. Earth is actually protected by its magnetic field and atmosphere.
However, such storms can cause massive damage: satellites can be destroyed, power grids or communication and navigation systems can collapse.
To protect the Earth’s power grids, a certain advance warning time is needed – but this is currently unattainable: solar particles move very quickly through the vast area of the solar system.
According to researchers, a very intense solar storm could occur at any time and although it is highly unlikely, could have far-reaching effects. A once-in-a-century event is difficult to predict.
The German Weather Service (DWD) released footage Saturday night that reportedly showed the northern lights above Offenbach And Frankfurt am Main showed.
Many users have shared pictures of northern lights on online networks.
According to NOAA, the last so-called “extreme” category was classified as “extreme” in October 2003. Halloween storms achieved. Then there was a blackout in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa.
