1-minute News | What is the impact of geomagnetic storms on us?

From 23:00 on March 24th to 23:00 on March 25th, a severe geomagnetic storm occurred on Earth, resulting in auroras appearing in many places. The phenomenon of geomagnetic storms has attracted social attention, and the term "geomagnetic storm" has become a hot search topic. So, what is a geomagnetic storm?

A geomagnetic storm refers to a phenomenon where during solar eruption activities, the high-speed coronal mass ejections from the Sun carry the Sun's magnetic field and impact the Earth, causing severe disturbances to the magnetic field of the planet.

So what impact does it have on our daily lives?

The occurrence of geomagnetic storms has minimal impact on the daily lives of humans, but it may have certain effects on the operation of aircraft and satellite orbits. Under the influence of geomagnetic storms, satellite stations in space may experience a decrease in orbit altitude due to atmospheric drag, requiring enhanced monitoring of the orbits and adjustments as needed; the positioning errors of satellite navigation devices may increase slightly, but the impact on the public's daily use of navigation functions is minimal.

As a matter of fact, geomagnetic storms do not have any impact on human health and air travel. Although they may cause some interference with electronic communication products, the effects are very small and can be managed.

However, intense geomagnetic activity may affect the migration and navigation abilities of animals. For instance, for pigeons that rely on solar and geomagnetic navigation, the impact of geomagnetic storms is significant.

Despite some "side effects," geomagnetic storms also bring a visual feast to aurora enthusiasts. Why do they bring about the aurora phenomenon?

During a geomagnetic storm, high-energy particles from space collide with the air, causing it to glow and form auroras. Microscopic energy exchanges occur in the process of high-speed collisions between molecules and atoms in the air and solar material.

Experts indicate that the occurrence range of auroras corresponds to the intensity of geomagnetic storms. For the Northern Hemisphere, the stronger the geomagnetic storm, the further south the auroras will occur. This time, the appearance of auroras in Genhe City, Inner Mongolia, China, confirms this correlation.