AFP
Miami
A severe solar storm struck Earth yesterday, potentially affecting power and communications on Earth.
The storm could grow into a G4 on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scale of one to five, with five being the worst.
“Possible widespread voltage control problems and some protective systems may mistakenly trip out key assets from the power grid,” NOAA said in a space weather alert describing the storm.
High frequency radio may be sporadic or blacked out for hours, and satellite navigation systems may be “degraded or inoperable for hours”, the US federal agency added.
While Earth is protected by its magnetic shield, satellites in low Earth orbit may experience increased drag “and tracking and orientation problems may occur”, NOAA said.
NOAA said the geomagnetic storm resulted from “two significant eruptions from the sun’s corona that occurred early on March 15.”
Meanwhile, Europe’s power operators are bracing for potential disruption from the solar eclipse expected on Friday, which will knock out almost all solar-generated electricity in an “unprecedented” test for the network.
