The Sun is slowly approaching the maximum point of its cycle, as we can predict from the geomagnetic storms about which we see more and more frequent warnings. As our star becomes more active, it emits more charged particles into the Solar System in the form of a coronal mass ejection (CME). The latest of these events hit Earth recently, on August 15 and 16.
The increase in charged particles hitting the Earth causes a geomagnetic storm. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center announced a strong storm followed by a more moderate storm caused by continued runoff. The past day saw some increase in activity, with a small storm caused by the high velocity coronal current set in motion ahead of the CME.
“The effects of a G3 [strong] storm on our technology are generally minimal,” wrote a statement by the Space Weather Prediction Center. It can be seen up to northern Oregon.”
It has also been announced that auroral activity reaches its peak just after sunset in Scandinavia and later in the night in North America, when different waves of activity “wash” the Earth’s magnetosphere.
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