Coronal Hole Awakens Earth: Peak of Magnetic Storm Recorded in the Morning

A G1-level magnetic storm began on Earth around midnight and intensified throughout the night, according to the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It reached its peak around 6:30 AM Moscow time. According to current estimates, geomagnetic activity should not increase further.

The cause was a fast solar wind from a coronal hole on the Sun. Such regions eject accelerated streams of charged particles into space – when they reach Earth, its magnetic field begins to react.

Specialists had anticipated the current scenario the day before. The coronal hole that caused the storm is clearly visible in images of the Sun and has an unusual shape.

June has so far passed without serious geomagnetic disturbances: there have been four days with magnetic storms this month. The current episode is far from the most active periods of the 21st century.