Solar Storms Resulting From A Sunspot Head Towards Earth

The sun has been very busy recently, with at least 17 solar eruptions resulting from a sunspot on the sun. Some of the charged particles hurled into space are headed towards our planet and could create quite a light show in the sky in some areas. The overactive sunspot that created the 17 solar eruptions is known as AR2975.

That sunspot has produced flares since March 28. As a result of the sunspot flares, NASA says at least three coronal mass ejections are headed towards Earth. The first of those coronal mass ejections is expected to hit the planet on March 31.

The next is expected to impact the atmosphere on Friday, April 1. Models of the flares suggest their strength could be G2 or G3, with the latter being a moderate strength geomagnetic storm. NASA does warn that it is challenging to predict how any auroras may be seen in the night sky.

NASA and other space agencies are constantly watching for extreme solar activity. While there is no expectation with these coronal mass ejections for any significant interference with satellites, that could happen with a large enough ejection.