New solar storms can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth, and the northern lights are possible even at very low latitudes, from tonight through Thursday, according to the US agency NOAA.

In May, the planet experienced the strongest geomagnetic storms in 20 years.

The northern lights then lit up the night sky in the US, Europe and Australia, at latitudes where this phenomenon does not normally occur.

Solar storms can be accompanied by a coronal mass emission (CME), a cloud of plasma composed of charged particles that reaches Earth within a few days. Their interaction with Earth’s magnetic field results in the northern lights, a giant, colorful “curtain” of light that ripples across the sky.

Four CMEs are already headed for Earth and will arrive between tonight and Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced.

The heaviest activity is expected tonight, with a category 3 geomagnetic storm, while those in May were category 5.

According to NOAA, they will see the Northern Lights residents of Canada and part of the northern US.

“With a bit of luck» the phenomenon may also appear in northern Europe, England, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, according to the website SpaceWeatherLive.

The CME they can also cause problems in the power grid and telecommunications. Solar activity, based on its eleven-year cycle, is expected to peak from late 2024 to 2026.

The strongest geomagnetic storm ever recorded, the so-called “Carrington episode”, after the astronomer who observed it, occurred in 1859. Then, the telegraph lines were overloaded, so much so that the devices caught fire.