Happening today: Geomagnetic storm skims the Earth

One or more coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are occurring in a high activity zone of the Sun, with a glancing impact on Earth today.

This zone of high activity does not directly affect the Earth and is largely being released into open space. The flares have occurred on the far side of the Sun, hidden from view.

They will marginally touch our planet and could cause geomagnetic disturbances today, Saturday, January 13, according to warnings from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre.

For the time being, the side of the Sun facing Earth appears quiet. Next week, with the rotation of the active region of our star towards the Earth, new solar storms could hit our planet directly.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is an ejection of material from the solar corona. The ejected material, in the form of plasma, consists mainly of electrons and protons. When this cloud reaches the Earth, it can disturb its magnetosphere.

One effect of our magnetosphere being hit by solar material is the appearance of auroras. When the planet is directly hit by solar storms, the Northern Lights can descend to latitudes across Canada and the U.S.

Activity on the Sun is starting to rise with an early arrival of the next solar maximum. The Sun goes through a solar cycle, which includes quiet periods.

Initially, Solar Cycle 25 was forecast to peak in 2025. This was revised in at the end of 2023, with an earlier peak between January and October 2024 now expected.