A solar storm could hit the Earth today just days after one triggered spectacular Northern Light over Scotland last week.
SpaceWeather.com says that a stream of solar wind is forecast to strike the planet’s magnetic field, which could result in a minor geomagnetic disturbance in the polar regions.
Experts say that a coronal hole was observed near the sun’s equatorial region on Friday.
A coronal hole is a temporary region of relatively cool, less dense plasma in the solar corona where the sun’s magnetic field extends into interplanetary space as an open field.
As the magnetic lines around these holes are opened, solar winds can escape into space and often head in the direction of our planet, the Express reports.
It comes after a strong geomagnetic storm hit Earth last week sparking Aurora Borealis over Scotland, with people catching a glimpse of stunning hues of green and purple.
Space Weather said: “A minor stream of solar wind is approaching Earth, and it could cause polar geomagnetic unrest when it arrives on November 8 or 9.
"The gaseous material is flowing from an equatorial hole in the Sun's atmosphere.
"Auroras could appear in around the Arctic Circle as the planetary K-index reaches a value of 3 or 4."
Will Scots be able to see the Northern Lights tonight?
It is said that the solar winds are not expected to trigger a noticeable disturbance beyond visible auroras - which are caused by charged particles from the sun imparting energy on atoms and molecules of gas in the atmosphere.
The Met Office’s space weather website says that there has been ‘no significant activity’ in the past 24 hours.
A notice reads: “Solar Activity has been low over the past 24 hours, with two common-class flares, both from a region in the northeast of the disc.
“Solar activity is likely to be low in the period (next four days), with a slight chance of moderate-class flares - most likely from the region in the northeast of the solar disc.”
What is a solar flare?
A solar flare has been described as a “tremendous explosion on the sun that happens when energy stored in ‘twisted’ magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released”.
Experts classify solar flares according to their brightness in the x-ray wavelengths.
There are three categories of flare. X-class can result in radio blackouts around the world, M-class can cause brief radio blackouts and C-class can result in a few noticeable consequences on Earth.
Solar flares are the reason why Scots have been able to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis in recent days.
A massive solar flare meant that people as far down as northern England were able to see the incredible spectacle.
