Well bloody hell with slippers on, another load of solar fury just arrived! 🚀 The first of potentially FOUR coronal mass ejections (CMEs) slammed us in the face today at 04:50 UTC at the L1 point between Earth and the Sun. The total strength of the interplanetary magnetic field jumped to 17 nanotesla and the solar wind is blasting at 800 km/s! 💨 That's faster than me when I spot the last beer on the Tesco shelf during a sale!
The north-south direction of the IMF (Bz) is currently mostly northward, but the warning for a strong G3 geomagnetic storm ⚡️ remains in effect because additional ejections could reach Earth within the next 72 hours. And based on my experience, if this first ejection was the weakest of them all, then brace yourselves for a proper cosmic hangover in the coming days! 🤪
Sunspot designated 4274 has been relatively quiet over the last 24 hours 😴 compared to its previous activity. But it still couldn't resist one interesting M1.7-class flare, which peaked today at 07:15 UTC. 🌋 This long-duration event produced a faint halo coronal mass ejection, most of which is heading northeast. Yes, you're reading that right, the same thing again! 🙄
This time, however, the halo is rather faint 👻 and combined with the low speed of the ejected material (around 550 km/s), it means that although it should reach Earth, we don't expect any big show from it. It's like when your brother-in-law shows up with 2% beer — you know he's there, but there's not going to be any party! 🍺
Taking into account all the other coronal mass ejections that are still on their way, however, this is yet another source of geomagnetic activity that will be affecting our planet in the coming days. 🌠
So Slovak sky lovers, set your alarms, charge your cameras, and get ready for possible aurora even over our territory! 📸 And if you happen to see something green to the north, it's not a UFO or the aftermath of last night's juniper brandy, but a real cosmic show! 👽
Follow the website ziara.sk for the latest updates so you don't miss a thing! 🌈 Because if you miss this show, the next one like it might not come until Slovan wins the Champions League! 😂
Your Astronomer Cassandra ✨
