Sunday May 6: Solar Storm to cause Mobile, TV, Tech Blackout on Earth?

US space agency NASA has informed that a solar storm brewing on Sun is flaring up splitting huge sun storms which may reach earth on Sunday, May 6. It said a coronal hole or sun spot has opened up releasing huge swarm of cosmic rays which may take 8 minutes to reach earth.

The space weather watching unit of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the solar tsunami can create an aurora or polar lights when it hits earth. Astronomers have estimated that three such solar storms are likely to reach earth on May 6, to be precise, the Indian Ocean and India is very much within the target area.

The storm classified as G-1 or ‘minor’ is the biggest since 2004 and it could trigger sparks and melt soil on Moon, while its impact on Earth is still not comprehended by astronomers but similar storms had apparently given birth to origin of life on earth.

A section of scientists warned that the solar storms on Sunday could be severe enough to disrupt communications, satellite-based GPS, flaring up magnetic field around electricity power stations or transmitters. A partial tech blackout is likely to disrupt the Internet-based communications, they added.

Effects on Earth?

Since the severity has been classified as low by NOAA, it may cause voltage fluctuations in electricity supply or even cause power failures for now. However, the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has issued a storm alert on Sunday and Monday stating that the solar storm could cause a “high stream of activity” that is characteristic to any G1-class storm. The gigantic coronal hole in the sun’s surface was captured today by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), said SWPC.

“G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm watches have been issued for 06 and 07 May 2018 due to the anticipated effects of a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream… Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, that is, northern tier of the US such as northern Michigan and Maine,” said SWPC in a statement.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists woke up to the situation to claim that these disruptions are due to the effect of an approaching Nibiru planet which is lurking in the vicinity of our solar system. David Meade, its proponent, has repeated that the next seven years will witness tribulation with many more calamities. NASA has denied these claims as Internet Hoax, though.

50-Year-Cycle?

Researchers have long announced that a storm is likely to come and the most intense solar flare may reach earth in maximum fifty years. It is not sure whether the Sunday storm was the one or not.

Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), who’s been working on these storms for decades, predicted that the next solar storm will be a stronger one. “The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one,” she said a few years ago. It can produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.

Earlier, such intense solar storms had been observed in 1805 and 1958 but with no mobiles and magnetic power lines, the disruption was not detectable as clearly as it would today when auroras and cell technology will showcase the real impact.

According to solar physicist David Hathaway of the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), a typical sunspot exists for just a few weeks. When it decays, it leaves behind a ‘corpse’ of weak magnetic fields.

Whether the big Doomsday is Sunday or not will be known sooner. For now, a storm is coming and how big will it be remains a major question.