The maximum in 11 years. The sun is approaching its explosive peak: the consequences could be significant

Recently, many more people around the world than usual were able to see the northern and southern lights overhead with the naked eye. This unusual event was triggered by a very strong solar storm that affected the movement of the Earth's magnetic field.

The Sun reaches its maximum activity in an 11-year cycle. This means that more explosive particle emissions can be expected, Science Alert writes.

These very fast and hot particles then race down the Earth's magnetic field lines - in the direction of the magnet - until they strike a neutral, cold atmospheric particle such as oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen. At this point, some of that energy is lost, and this heats up the local environment.

However, atmospheric particles don't like to be energetic, so they release some of that energy in the visible light range. Then, depending on which element is too hot, you can see a different set of wavelengths - and colors - of radiation in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is the source of the aurorae, which we can see at high latitudes and, during strong solar events, also at lower latitudes.

So what made it possible to see the aurora much further south in the northern hemisphere?

The Earth's magnetic field is constant, but it can be compressed and released depending on how hot the Sun is. An easy way to think about this is to imagine two half-inflated balloons squeezed together. If you inflate one balloon by adding more gas to it, the pressure will increase and push the smaller balloon back down. When you release the additional gas, the smaller balloon relaxes and is pushed back.

That is, the stronger this pressure is, the closer to the equator the corresponding magnetic field lines are moved, and the aurorae can be seen.

For modern infrastructure, the largest currents are generated in power lines, railroad tracks, and underground pipelines. The speed of this movement is also important and is monitored by measuring how much the disturbed magnetic field differs from the "normal" one. One such indicator used by researchers is called the perturbed storm time index.

Changes in the Earth's magnetic field can also affect the future

People don't see these changes, but it can greatly affect the accuracy of the GPS location system, as the reading of a geographic location depends on the time between your device and the satellite. An increase in electron density (the number of particles in the signal path) causes the wave to be distorted, meaning it takes longer to reach your device.

These same changes can also affect satellite internet speeds and the planet's radiation belts. This is a torus of high-energy charged particles, mostly electrons, about 13,000 km from the surface. A geomagnetic storm can push these particles into the lower atmosphere. Here, the particles can interfere with high-frequency (HF) radio used by airplanes and affect ozone concentrations.

As a natural event, the aurora borealis is a miracle. But even better is that with each strong geomagnetic storm, we make improvements that help protect against potential damage from future events.

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