Video: Solar Storm To Lash Earth Until Wednesday
Our Geo Quiz starts 93 million miles away: on the surface of the Sun.
That’s where a solar eruption happened over the weekend.
It’s described as an immense blast of plasma and radiation streaming out from the sun.
That plasma has been traveling through space at about four million miles an hour, and it reportedly reached our planet on Tuesday.
Scientists are on the lookout for any effects of this storm here on Earth.
The question is, what kind of storm are we talking about?
The answer is a geomagnetic storm.
It’s a phenomenon caused by a solar wind shock wave that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.
The result can be Northern Lights displays and possible disruption of satellite communications around the world. Anchor Lisa Mullins gets details from Doug Biesecker at the NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!