Another magnetic storm has begun on Earth — the third since the beginning of 2026. This was reported by the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to scientists, the storm was caused by a plasma ejection that the Sun produced back on January 13. It was initially assumed that the flow of particles would pass by Earth, but some of the plasma still reached the planet's magnetosphere.
As specified at the Institute of Applied Geophysics, the current storm is rated as weak (level G1). The impact of the solar wind may persist until the end of the day. The level of solar activity on January 17 is predicted to be from low to moderate. The main manifestation of the storm is the aurora borealis, which is observed at high latitudes, north of the 60th parallel.
This is the third such event in January: the first magnetic storm was recorded on the night of January 3, the second on January 10–11 and was accompanied by powerful auroras over Siberia and Northern Europe. Scientists note that the current solar activity fits into the framework of the eleven-year cycle, the peak of which falls on 2025–2026.