Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center observed a cluster of sunspots on the surface of the sun this week.
With them came solar flares that kicked off a severe geomagnetic storm.
That storm is expected to last throughout the weekend as at least five coronal mass ejections — chunks of the sun — are flung out into space, towards Earth! NOAA uses a five point scale to rate these storms, and this weekend’s storm is a G4.
It’s expected to produce auroras as far south as Alabama.
To contextualize this storm, we are looking back at the largest solar storm on record: the Carrington Event.
Updated
BREAKING: Geomagnetic storm reaches G5 level ("extreme"), first time in 21 years pic.twitter.com/KvxLME3AZW
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 10, 2024