Geomagnetic stations around the world are recording a storm of level G4.7 — only a third of a point away from the limit value of G5. This event was caused by the arrival to Earth of the first of three plasma clouds ejected by the Sun during a series of powerful flares in recent days. This was reported by specialists from the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the IKI RAS.
The scientists' forecasts were not justified: it was expected that only a weak front of the solar wind would reach the planet at night, capable of causing a storm no higher than level G2. However, the observed picture turned out to be much more powerful. According to experts, it is likely that the third and fastest plasma cloud, associated with yesterday's extreme X5.1 flare — the strongest of the year — caught up and "compressed" the slower emissions, amplifying their impact. As a result, the density and temperature of the plasma increased sharply, and the magnetic field reached historical maximums.
The situation is complicated by technical failures. The main NOAA satellite for monitoring the solar wind ACE stopped transmitting data, and the agency was forced to switch to the backup DSCOVR. Its measurements in recent hours have been unstable and contain many errors, but it is already clear that the parameters of the solar wind near the Earth are now extreme. Despite this, the flow rate remains within normal limits, which suggests that the main impact of the plasma cloud from the X5.1 flare is still ahead.
Scientists note that it is impossible to predict further developments — modern models are not designed for such extreme phenomena. In the coming hours, either a short-term weakening of the storm is expected, or, on the contrary, a new peak, when the main emission approaches the Earth.
A giant zone of polar auroras is forming above the planet. Its peak falls on the western hemisphere — the USA and Canada, where auroras are visible up to the 40th parallel. According to preliminary data, northern Russia may also see unusually bright flashes in the sky.
The effects of solar particles are already being felt by spacecraft. The GOES-R satellite is recording a tenfold increase in the density of protons with energy above 10 MeV and a sharp increase in high-energy particle fluxes. On the SOHO space telescope, the detectors are literally "blinded" by the impacts of energetic particles, which turned the images of the Sun into mosaics of bright dots.
