Space Weather Alert.
The U.S agency Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a Geomagnetic storm watch for the potential impact of level G2 moderate storm on earth tomorrow. The storm is connected to the strong M class solar flare that occurred last Saturday and forms part of 2 coronal mass ejections soon after. Increased activity is expected from 6am (NZT) tomorrow 2nd September lasting for 24 hours.
If the storm eventuates (sometimes they don’t) and reaches a G2 level status, the 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.
For more information on Space Weather, check out our website's Space page which has a short 6 min video from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
Key links for more information: Southern Hemisphere observations at Australia’s BOM agency Northern Hemisphere observations at U.S.A’s Space Weather Prediction Center