According to Prof. Lev Postilnik from the Center for Cosmic Radiation in Hermon of the Ministry of Science, the radiation emitted by the solar storm brought an impressive display of the aurora borealis to Russia and Canada
The sun emitted a solar storm of moderate intensity, which peaked at 21:23 Israel time on June 22 (last night). The storm was captured by the instruments of NASA's SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) spacecraft, which observes the sun without doubt.
Solar storms are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from the storm cannot penetrate through the Earth's atmosphere and physically harm humans on the ground, however, when the storms are strong enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layers where communication and GPS signals pass between the Earth and the satellites.
The storm is classified as M6. Type M storms are about one-tenth the strength of the strongest storms classified as Type X. The number next to the type provides additional information about its strength. An M2 storm is twice as strong as an M1, an M3 storm is 3 times as strong as an M1, and so on.
In Northern Europe, Russia and Canada, residents could witness an impressive display of the aurora borealis. Because the magnetosphere at the poles is weaker than in the rest of the earth and therefore the radiation drains to them and among other things creates the spectacular shows.
As mentioned, the storm caused fluctuations in compasses and navigation disturbances in GPS-based instruments, as a result of fluctuations in the magnetic field in the atmosphere. "Whoever was wired yesterday with the help of GPS could have found himself on the wrong street," says Prof. Lev Postilnik from the Center for Cosmic Radiation in Hermon of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.
According to Postilnik, there may be disruptions in the electricity supply in the northern countries. "This is a medium-high intensity solar storm, but the cosmic radiation in this solar flare is not dangerous to health," explains Prof. Postelnik, "the danger to the power grid stems from the formation of currents in the power lines as a result of the magnetic field, according to Faraday's law." The sun's activity is cyclical, about once every 11 years there is a major eruption. The last time a particularly strong solar storm was observed was in November 2003.
