The solar storm eventually caused a powerful geomagnetic storm on Earth after it hit the magnetosphere.
Just a few days ago, a potentially disruptive sunspot was sending surprisingly strong solar winds toward Earth at an impressive 372 miles per second! Based on space experts, this results in a moderately strong G2 layer geomagnetic storm on the earth. Geomagnetic storms, a major disturbance of the Earth’s magnetosphere, occur when there is a remarkably efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind in the direction of the Earth.
According to NOAA Space Weather Scale, a severe geomagnetic storm could even cause Radio power failure on The earth while also affecting communications and power grids. This G2-class geomagnetic storm did not cause any damage to infrastructure, it produced dazzling colorful auroras all over the area. Canada and United Kingdom. Dr. Tamitha Skov, Space Weather Physicist has also shared some photos of the mesmerizing aurora scene taken by people.
“And there’s nothing like an August night filled with your love… The aurora borealis appeared in the sky over central Alberta this morning,” said Jeff Adams of Twitterati while sharing the view. While, during a similar event, a user by the name of Alan Dyer shared one of the rare occurrences of the aurora borealis, named “STEVE”, which stands for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. The SpaceWeather.com report also confirmed that STEVE was seen in Montana and Pennsylvania during the past geomagnetic storm.
“During Monday’s unexpected geomagnetic storm, filaments of molten plasma flowed through Earth’s magnetosphere. Alan Dyer saw one of them near Gleichen, Alberta,” mentioned SpaceWeather.com.
“Over the last few nights, Alberta has seen the Aurora Displays in action. This photo shows STEVE, a unique aurora that is mostly seen around lower attitudes and spotted right here in Alberta! Taken on Sunday night at around 1am MST,” Dyer tweeted.
This rare event is a recent find, which looks like the aurora, but it is not! According to spaceweather.com, the glowing purple color is caused by the hot temperature of 3000°C. Bands of gas flow through the Earth’s magnetosphere at lightning speed exceeding 6 km/s! It occurs only in a few geomagnetic storms, often along with a type of green aurora known as a picket barrier.
