Solar Flare Unleashed: Earth braces for two days of magnetic storms

A cloud of solar plasma, triggered by a powerful eruption on the Sun, is expected to reach Earth on Friday, August 28. Scientists from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN) forecast that the resulting geomagnetic disturbances may cause magnetic storms lasting up to two days. The plasma was ejected into space on August 25 and is currently traveling between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. The flow is moving at speeds between 600 and 1,000 km/s—a rate described as moderate for such events—which allows researchers to provide advance warning before the particles impact the planet. Aleksey Rudnev, astrophysicist: "The speed of the solar wind directly determines the force of the impact on the planet's magnetosphere. In this case, the particles are not traveling at maximum speeds, meaning Earth's magnetic shield will be able to hold back the pressure more effectively, although disturbances in the upper layers of the atmosphere are still inevitable."