A massive magnetic filament on the Sun’s southern hemisphere exploded, propelling a cloud of debris towards Earth on April 21.
The explosion resulted in a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) that collided with the Earth’s magnetic field on April 23, resulting in a severe geomagnetic storm. The storm was rated a level 4 out of 5 on NOAA’s space weather G-scale, and its most likely areas of impact were across the northern tier of the United States and Canada.
Scientists said as the CME collided with Earth’s magnetic field, it triggered a stunning display of auroras that lit up the night sky in several countries worldwide. The auroras were observed as far south as France and China, with green blobs seen in Berlin and similar scenes noticed in Poland. Experts have described this once-in-a-lifetime event as an incredible sight to behold.
The US Air Force reported strong Type II and Type IV solar radio bursts soon after the eruption, confirming the Sun blasted out an immense ‘halo CME’ on Friday. When the cloud of solar plasma swept past Earth on Sunday, it sparked auroras across Canada and the northern United States.
According to the NOAA SWPC, the geomagnetic storm resulted in widespread yet manageable irregularities to the power grid, spacecraft, global positioning systems, and radio communications.
However, if the storm persists into the evening, the Aurora Borealis may be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California. The Severe Geomagnetic Storm is expected to persist until 2:00 AM EDT on April 24, 2023.
Experts said the event was s a reminder of the powerful impact that space weather could have on our daily lives, from the beautiful auroras it could produce to the potential disruptions it could cause to technology and infrastructure.
