New solar storm could hit Earth this week and cause ‘power grid problems’

ANOTHER solar storm could be heading our way this week.

Space experts have predicted that a solar flare could “graze” the Earth’s magnetic field on April 6.

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A second solar flare could also hit Earth on April 7.

There’s no need to panic though as neither flare is expected to cause any major issues.

The experts at SpaceWeather.com explained: “A minor geomagnetic storm is possible this week in response to a pair of approaching CMEs. 

“The first CME, launched by an M4-class flare from departing sunspot AR2975, could graze Earth’s magnetic field on April 6th.

“The second CME, flung away from the sun by an exploding filament of magnetism (described below), might deliver a glancing blow on April 7th.

“Their combined effect could produce G1-class storming.”

A CME is a type of solar flare called a coronal mass ejection, which is a huge expulsion of plasma from the Sun’s outer layer, called the corona.

This mass ejection of particles from the Sun travels through space and the Earth uses its magnetic field to protect us from it.

Each solar storm that hits Earth is graded by severity and this one is only expected to be a “G1 minor”.

This means it could cause weak power grid fluctuations and have a small impact on satellite communications.

A G1 storm can also confuse migrating animals that rely on the Earth’s magnetic field for a sense of direction.

One good thing about solar storms is that they can produce very pretty natural light displays like the northern lights.

Those natural light displays are called auroras and are examples of the Earth’s magnetosphere getting bombarded by solar wind, which creates the pretty green and blue displays.

The Earth’s magnetic field helps to protect us from the more extreme consequences of solar flares but it can’t stop all of them.

In 1989, a strong solar eruption shot so many electrically charged particles at Earth that the Canadian Province of Quebec lost power for nine hours.

As well as causing issues for our tech on Earth, they can be deadly for an astronaut if they result in injury or interfere with mission control communications.

The Sun has started one of its 11 year solar cycles, which usually sees eruptions and flares grow more intense and extreme.