Geomagnetic storm to hit Earth on Friday, scientists warn

Tengrinews.kz — A geomagnetic storm is expected to hit Earth on Friday following a powerful solar flare that occurred earlier.
The Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute reported this in its Telegram channel the previous day.

“As often happens in such cases, once everything is over for the Sun, it is only beginning for Earth. Plasma ejections, despite their enormous speeds of 600–1,000 kilometers per second, take between two and four days to cover the 150 million kilometers separating Earth from the Sun. This is why it is common for flare activity to have already ended while Earth is only preparing to encounter its effects. That is exactly what is happening now,” the publication said.

The scientists explained that the plasma cloud ejected by the explosion is currently on its way toward Earth, “somewhere between the orbits of Mercury and Venus,” and is expected to reach the planet the day after tomorrow, on Friday.

“The forecast for the impact is relatively mild. The ejection does not appear to be moving particularly fast, so the initial expectations of strong G3-level storms have been revised down to more modest G1–G2 levels — minor to moderate events,” the scientists noted.

This may be partly offset by the duration of the event. Geomagnetic disturbances are expected to last for up to two days. This is partly because additional energy may come from a coronal hole currently present on the Sun.

The scientists also reported that an almost total lunar eclipse is expected on August 28. It will be partial because a small edge of the Moon will remain outside Earth’s shadow. This will be the last lunar eclipse of 2026. Earth’s shadow will pass across the lunar disk from approximately 7:33 a.m. to 10:53 a.m. Kazakhstan time.

However, it will be difficult to observe from Kazakhstan. By that time, morning will already have begun across the country, making viewing difficult.
As a reminder, scientists recently recorded a sharp and unexpected increase in solar activity. They first detected three strong M-class flares, the fourth category on the five-level scale. Their intensity ranged from M1.7 to M1.9.
A little later, an even more powerful eruption occurred — an M7.0-class flare, the strongest of the current surge in solar activity.