One of the most powerful flares has appeared on the Sun, and the release of energy has already led to problems on two continents. A powerful magnetic storm will cover the Earth in the coming days.

Writes about it Space.

According to the forecast of scientists, this sunspot on Saturday, May 20, as a result of the rotation of the Sun will be turned towards our planet. Another flash, which may be accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, will lead to the appearance of one of the most powerful geomagnetic storms.

First, the release of energy can reach the Earth on the same day, and then on Monday or Tuesday, that is, May 22 or 23, plasma flows can crash into the Earth, which will cause a geomagnetic storm.

This eruption may be one of the strongest possible on the Sun, that is, class X. When such eruptions occur, geomagnetic storms of G3, G4 and even G5 levels appear on Earth. These storms can lead to very large-scale radio outages and significant disruptions to the power systems on the planet.

Coronal mass ejections are large ejections of plasma from the Sun, sometimes accompanied by solar flares. Coronal mass ejections and flares can in turn cause solar storms by ejecting high-speed streams of charged particles into the magnetosphere — a region of space around the Earth dominated by the planet's magnetic field.

When this happens, the Earth's magnetic field weakens by about 6-12 hours, and it will take several days to fully recover.

Solar storms can cause a wide range of consequences: from minor failures in the operation of satellites to full-scale power outages.

Read also:

• A "dark" eruption occurred on the Sun: communication disappeared on Earth
• Earth threatened by a magnetic storm due to a new spot on the Sun: when to expect an impact
• The Earth will be covered by a magnetic storm: who needs to be especially careful