Earth hit by plasma train: strong G3 magnetic storm to cover the planet on June 4

A strong and prolonged G3 category magnetic storm is expected tonight Moscow time. As reported by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of IKI RAS and ISZF SB RAS, its cause will be the arrival of several plasma clouds, ejected by the Sun the day before, to Earth. The initial flares were separated by approximately 10 hours – the first occurred at 04:36, the last at 14:28. However, calculations show that later ejections will catch up with earlier ones, forming a single shock wave approximately 200 million kilometers long.

Given such dimensions and direction of movement, avoiding a collision with the cloud is practically impossible – mathematical models estimate this probability as zero. The storm is expected to be continuous. G3 level events belong to a strong, but not record-breaking category: this year such an event already occurred on March 21, and an even more powerful G4 was observed on January 19–21.

Auroras are likely during a storm of such power, but it will almost certainly be impossible to see them from the Northern Hemisphere: summer began here four days ago, and the nights are too short. The main observations are expected from the Southern Hemisphere – Australia, South America, and Antarctic stations. For satellite navigation and radio communications, short-term interference is possible due to ionospheric disturbance.