A cloud of plasma, formed after a series of powerful solar flares on June 3, has reached Earth. Initial measurements showed that the impact was weaker than the expected scenario: according to specialists from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN) and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISZF SO RAN), the planet was likely only affected by the peripheral part of the ejection, while the main mass of the plasma cloud passed by.
Previously, the forecast predicted the development of a strong and prolonged G3–G4 magnetic storm, caused by successive ejections of solar matter. However, current data indicate a milder interaction with Earth's magnetosphere. The parameters are expected to be refined as new observations become available in the coming hours.
According to researchers, on June 3, a series of M9.3, M7.7, and X1.0 class flares occurred on the Sun. Each of them was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection towards Earth, which led to the expectation of a stronger geomagnetic impact.
Specialists note that currently only the "initial passage" of the cloud is being recorded, and the final picture will become clearer later. At the same time, an increase in geomagnetic activity is not ruled out if subsequent structures of the solar ejection still interact with the planet's magnetosphere.
Initially, a high-intensity and long-duration storm was predicted, but now a scenario is being considered in which Earth was at the edge of the plasma flow, and its main core shifted to the side.