Sonnensturm brings Northern lights to Austria - see them tonight!

Sonnensturm brings Northern lights to Austria - see them tonight!

Waldviertel, Österreich - A remarkable solar storm reached the earth on Saturday morning and could enable the visibility of northern lights over parts of Austria. The storm, which was triggered in the sun at 0:15 a.m., hit the earth around 7:30 a.m. at an impressive speed of up to 3.6 million km/h. The organization Geosphere Austria has announced that the visibility of the Northern Lights will be decided during the day. With a clear sky, northern regions such as the Waldviertel, parts of Upper Austria or Upper Styria could have good chances for a sighting, as [5min.at reports] (https://www.520250601159/polarlichter-moeglichter- Sonnensturm-traf-mit-36-km-auf-erde/).

solar storms arise from coronal mass stiries, in which the sun is shot down large quantities of plasma and magnetic energy in the all -rib. These particles can cause geomagnetic disorders that can affect satellites, navigation and power grids. Fortunately, there is no danger for everyday life on earth from the current solar storm, so [5min.at] (https://www.5min.at/5202506011159/polarlichter-moeglicht- Sonnensturm-traf-mit-36-mio-km-auf-erde/).

scientific background

strong solar storms, like the current one, have also had remarkable consequences in the past. Earlier events, such as the 2003 storm, led to hours of power outages and other technical disorders in Europe. According to an announcement by NASA, ESA and the US privacy authority NOAA, the storm meets the earth during the highest phase of its activity, which also leads to a geomagnetic intensity of the storm from Rank G2 (on a scale from G1 to G5), as Zeit.de emphasizes.

Current northern lights are visible in unexpected regions - even in Germany - which is due to the effect of strong solar storms. These storms are the result of the interaction of invited particles of the sun wind with the earth's magnetic field. The highlight of the current 11-year sun cycle has led to this increased solar activity. Astrophysicist Volker Bothmer from the University of Göttingen has found that the current solar activity is above the level of the previous cycle, which is likely to make extreme solar storms. Historically, such storms have reached speeds of up to 2000 km/s, as reported n-tv.de.

possible effects and risks

The effects of a strong solar storm can be significant. In addition to the possibility of northern lights, disorders in electricity networks, communication and air traffic are also to be expected, as the observations from the past show. An example from Canada in 1989 shows how a solar storm led to a nationwide power failure. In the case of extreme solar storms, which are up to four times per sun cycle, the risk of satellites and electrical systems can increase enormously.

With about 10,000 solar storms per cycle, it is unlikely that the earth will be located directly in the way of an extreme storm. Nevertheless, experts warn that future events could even be two to three times as strong as the storms that have already been documented, such as the storm in May 2024, made the northern lights visible to the Caribbean. This event was compared to the Carrington event from 1859, the tunnel tower ever recorded.

Overall, the current solar storm shows how fascinating and at the same time challenging the interactions between the sun and the earth are. The scientists are constantly busy monitoring these processes in order to be able to react effectively to the potential dangers.