A space weather watch and warning is now in place across the earth by multiple government weather agencies. A geomagnetic storm from an April 22nd solar flare is starting to impact earth’s magnetosphere, with a minor G1 solar storm impacting earth in the last 24 hours. Within the next 24 hours, the American agency NOAA is forecasting a level 6 (scale 1 to 9) G2 solar storm, which could impact earth on late Sunday, early Monday morning NZ time.
Potential impacts will range from satellite interference affecting GPS accuracy to potential power grid and radio transmission issues. The main affect will be the intense illumination of the Aurora borealis (Northern lights) and the Aurora Australis that has potential to be seen as far north as Christchurch. Some recent scientific research has also been examining the link with increased seismic activity during these storm periods.
Currently the incoming solar winds have picked up to around 450 to 500 km/sec.
Key links for more information: Southern Hemisphere observations at Australia’s BOM agency https://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Geophysical/1/3/1 Northern Hemisphere observations at U.S.A’s NOAA agency https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/commu.../space-weather-enthusiasts
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