A shock wave of solar winds will blast through the atmosphere when a set of slow and fast moving solar particles collide in space. The interacting streams are known as a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) and space weather forecasters believe it will hit on Friday, July 5. The storm is classed is G1 or minor but this could still cause widespread technology issues across the globe as well as producing stunning blue lights above the north and south pole known as auroras.
In a brief statement on the website SpaceWeather, forecasters said: “NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on July 5th when a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) is expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field.
“CIRs are transition zones between slow- and fast-moving streams of solar wind.
“They contain shock-like density gradients that sometimes do a good job sparking auroras.”
Auroras, which include northern lights – aurora borealis – and southern lights – aurora australis, are caused when solar particles hit the atmosphere.
As the magnetosphere gets bombarded by solar winds, stunning blue lights can appear as that layer of the atmosphere deflects the particles.
For the most part, the Earth’s magnetic field protects humans from the barrage of radiation, but solar storms can affect satellite-based technology.
Solar winds can heat the Earth’s outer atmosphere, causing it to expand.
This can affect satellites in orbit, potentially leading to a lack of GPS navigation, mobile phone signal and satellite TV such as Sky.
Additionally, a surge of particles can lead to high currents in the magnetosphere, which can lead to higher than normal electricity in power lines, resulting in electrical transformers and power stations blow outs and a loss of power.
The higher amounts of radiation also leave people vulnerable to cancer.