On this day, the Earth is facing the influence of a large coronal hole and two streams of plasma ejected as a result of solar flares that occurred on the night of November 5.
According to ground and space observations, our planet has just entered a plasma stream from the coronal hole. The day before, on November 6, the near-Earth space was already experiencing disturbances due to magnetic storms, which led to a sharp increase in solar wind parameters to extreme values.
The current solar wind speed fluctuates between 700-800 km/s, while normal values are 300-400 km/s. The temperature of the plasma around the Earth has also significantly increased, reaching approximately half a million degrees, which is 5-10 times higher than usual values.
Scientists report that the response of the Earth's magnetosphere to these events remains moderate. As of the morning of November 7, magnetic storms have resumed, currently at low to medium levels (G1-G2). However, there is a possibility that they may intensify to level G3 in the coming hours. Experts note that the first signs of this are already being observed.
Nevertheless, scientists emphasize that the current events are merely a "prelude" to the arrival of solar clouds.
It is possible that the fastest parts of the solar ejections have already reached Earth, as evidenced by a sharp spike in the wind speed graph. The bulk of the plasma is expected within the next day, and it is still unclear how many impacts the planet can withstand. There is a chance that the plasma clouds may merge on their way, making the boundaries between them indistinguishable, specialists note.
According to preliminary models, the densest masses of solar clouds will pass by Earth, affecting only peripheral areas. In this case, the magnetic storms expected today should not exceed level G4. However, if the calculations turn out to be inaccurate and a frontal impact occurs, there could be storms of a higher level, G5.
Scientists also point out that with peripheral impact, the moment of arrival of the main mass of plasma against the backdrop of already existing extreme solar wind parameters may be difficult to distinguish, leading to a gradual increase on the graphs rather than a sharp impact. Models predicted strong impacts even with tangential passages.
