Severe geomagnetic storm watch issued

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Secure your earth-orbiting spacecraft!

G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm watch issued for June 2 following strong Earth-directed CME
By Teo Blašković, The Watchers - May 31, 2025
https://watchers.news/2025/05/31/g4-severe-geomagnetic-storm-watch-june-2-following-strong-earth-directed-cme/

The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm watch for June 2, 2025, following the eruption of a powerful, Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with a long-duration M8.1 solar flare from Active Region 4100. The CME is forecast to arrive at Earth late on June 1, with geomagnetic storm conditions expected to intensify through June 2.

A strong, long-duration M8.1 solar flare erupted from Active Region 4100 at 00:05 UTC on May 31, 2025. The flare produced a fast and significant coronal mass ejection (CME), confirmed to be Earth-directed by space weather models. Forecasts indicate the CME will reach Earth late on June 1, with initial geomagnetic storm conditions expected to reach G3 – Strong levels and a high probability of G4 – Severe storming on June 2.
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Potential impacts include widespread voltage control problems and the possibility of protective systems mistakenly tripping out key assets on power grids, intensified induced pipeline currents, and increased drag on low Earth orbit satellites. Spacecraft may experience surface charging and tracking problems, while HF (high frequency) radio propagation could become sporadic or blacked out. GPS and satellite navigation systems may be degraded or inoperable for hours.

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telcodad Potential impacts include … increased drag on low Earth orbit satellites.

Solar Storms Are Pushing Elon Musk’s Satellites Back to Earth
As Earth’s orbit becomes increasingly crowded, we need more data on how space weather impacts their reentries, researchers say.
By Ellyn Lapointe, Gizmodo - June 1, 2025
https://gizmodo.com/solar-storms-are-pushing-elon-musks-satellites-back-to-earth-2000608452

New research suggests that heightened solar activity shortens the lifespans of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, and may send them careening back to Earth at greater velocities. Perhaps unintuitively, this could increase the risk of satellite debris making landfall: https://gizmodo.com/not-just-auroras-heres-the-tech-that-got-hit-by-this-w-1851472838

This preprint study, which has yet to undergo peer review, adds to a wealth of evidence showing that solar storms wreak havoc on Elon Musk’s Starlinks: https://gizmodo.com/more-than-40-starlink-satellites-have-been-lost-after-a-1848506218

Over the last several years, the frequency and intensity of these storms have increased as the Sun approaches solar maximum—the peak in its 11-year cycle. At the same time, the number of satellites orbiting Earth has skyrocketed, largely due to the rise of private megaconstellations like Starlink. …..