The effects of a geomagnetic storm will likely be felt this week due to eruptions from the sun sending plasma toward Earth, which could hamper global communications equipment.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center over the weekend issued a geomagnetic storm watch for Monday and Tuesday, warning that a "high-speed stream from a coronal hole is expected to influence the Earth."
A coronal hole, according to the SWPC, is a cool, less dense region of plasma on the sun that allows solar wind to more easily escape into space. This solar activity can have an adverse effect on equipment used for navigation and communication.
A series of solar storms in 2003 caused disruptions to satellite TV, GPS, and radio signals, which caused researchers in Antarctica to lose communications with the outside world for multiple days and forced the astronauts on the International Space Station to protect themselves from high levels of radiation.
The solar activity has also caused the northern lights to become more active, with Auroras being visible from much of Canada and parts of the northwestern U.S. on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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