Elon Musk has mentioned that a strong geomagnetic storm currently impacting Earth is causing great stress on the Starlink satellites.
The intensity of geomagnetic activity reached level 5 on Friday evening at a 5-point scale, as reported by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). SWPC’s satellites detected an “extreme” event, marking the first storm of this level since October 2003.
A significant solar storm is currently taking place in the Earth’s geomagnetic field. “Large in a long while,” Musk tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter early this morning. Starlink satellites are facing immense pressure, but managing to hold up well.
Possible disruptions to Starlink
Starlink, the satellite division of SpaceX owned by Elon Musk, alerted on its website Saturday morning that it was facing “reduced service,” without providing more information. Fox Business has contacted SpaceX to request a statement.
There are approximately 6,000 satellites orbiting in low earth that connect with ground transceivers to provide high-speed internet to customers.
Inter-satellite laser links enable data exchange at light speed in space, facilitating global internet access. Starlink controls approximately 60% of the approximately 7,500 satellites circling Earth and is a major player in satellite internet.
If satellites are affected, they may disturb Earth’s navigation and communication services.
According to NOAA, a G5 geomagnetic storm can lead to extensive issues with electricity regulation, potentially resulting in total grid failure or power outages in certain systems. There is no known risk associated with electrical lines in residential properties.
According to the agency, a geomagnetic storm is a significant disruption of Earth’s magnetic field that happens when energy is transferred from the solar wind to the space around Earth. It frequently includes strong solar eruptions named Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) being released from the sun. At least seven sightings have been noticed since Wednesday.
Storms are caused by fluctuations in the solar wind, leading to significant alterations in Earth’s magnetosphere’s currents, plasma, and fields.
Storm to continue for the next week
The NOAA predicts that the storm will continue throughout the weekend, endangering navigation systems, power grids, and satellite navigation, as well as other services. During the most recent Level 5 geomagnetic event, Sweden faced power outages and South Africa experienced damage to transformers.
The storm resulted in a stunning and vibrant light show in the skies over the U.S. due to powerful solar flares hitting Earth on Friday, a sight not witnessed in many years.
Auroras, usually seen in states near Canada during geomagnetic storms, were spotted in the Gulf Coast states of Florida, Texas, and Alabama, displaying pink, green, and purple skies.
Although conditions have returned to a level 4 storm on Saturday morning, more geomagnetic activity from extra solar flares is on its way to Earth over the weekend, possibly continuing into early next week.
