Impending Solar Storm Threatens Earth with Auroras and Blackouts

A coronal mass ejection (CME) cloud released during a solar flare eruption over the weekend is expected to hit Earth today, May 11, sparking a powerful solar storm. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that the storm will hit our planet between 5:30 PM and 11:30 PM IST. Such storms can damage small satellites, impact mobile networks, GPS, and even pose a threat to ground-based electronics and power grids by increasing the magnetic potential by huge amounts. NOAA has predicted aurora show can be seen as far as Oregon, Nebraska, and Virginia. NOAA's DSCOVR satellite tracks different measurements of the Sun and its atmosphere including temperature, speed, density, degree of orientation, and frequency of the solar particles.