MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. A G2-class geomagnetic storm was recorded on Earth on December 1, the second such event in the past six days following powerful explosions on the sun, the Heliogeophysical Service of the Russian Fedorov Institute of Applied Geophysics reported.
"Early on December 1, a disruption in the geomagnetic field was recorded," the statement said.
According to the institute’s space weather data, the Earth is currently experiencing G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions, according to a five-level scale denoted by a G followed by a number, with 1 being a minor storm and 5 an extreme event.
The G2 class means that high-latitude electrical systems may experience problems on Earth. In addition, there could be a degradation of radio navigation signals and high-frequency radio propagation may also fade. This could lead to auroras, also known as the northern lights, being visible at 50-degree latitudes. The solar X-ray flares have a weak effect, or equal to the G1 scale, on the Earth’s ionosphere.
The Earth was previously hit with a geomagnetic storm of the same G2 (moderate) class on November 26.
Two powerful M-class solar flares, which were followed by Type II spectral radio bursts and a geo-effective coronal mass ejection (CME) towards the Earth, were reported on November 29.
Solar flares are divided into five classes according to their X-ray strength: the smallest ones are A-class, followed by B, C, M and X. A0.0 class is equal to the radiation energy found in the Earth’s orbit, 10 nanowatts per square meter. Each letter stands for a 10-fold increase in energy output. As a rule, the flares, known as giant explosions on the sun, send solar plasma into space, and the clouds of these charged particles can bring about geomagnetic storms when reaching the Earth.