What do you think will happen when a geomagnetic storm strikes the Earth? According to space weather experts, a severe geomagnetic or solar storm may bring stunning auroras as it could supercharge the northern lights. However, scientists warned that the solar storm can trigger power disruptions.

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At around 2:39 p.m. (ET) on Monday, a powerful geomagnetic storm hit the Earth. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center said that the solar storm is a "G4" on the five-point scale.

"This is the very early stages of an event that will play out over many hours, with SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center) forecasting continuing storm level intensities into tomorrow," NOAA's prediction center announced Monday afternoon.

A geomagnetic storm is a result of two significant eruptions from the sun's corona. The two coronal mass ejections are huge explosions of super-hot solar plasma directed toward the Earth. While speeding through space, it created the large solar storm. According to USA Today, these types of storms are part of what is known as space weather, which is an energy that soars up from the sun in the form of coronal mass ejections that will interact with Earth's atmospheric and geomagnetic field.

The geomagnetic storm on Monday is the same level of the solar storm that hit the Earth back in March. While G4 storm does not pose any risk to satellites or astronauts in space, it could, however, affect GPS and the radio signals on Earth, Jobs & Hire reported. It can also affect electric power grid and disrupt power to homes and businesses.

Experts added that a solar radiation storm could also occur and could impact airplane flights near and over the poles, Bloomberg has learned. Fortunately, there have been no reports of damage on Monday. However, NOAA space weather physicist Doug Biesecker said the electric grid and GPS probably had current fluctuations that they could handle.  

The geomagnetic storm could last a day or longer, The New York Times noted. Though a powerful storm can affect the power grid, the geomagnetic storm has one noticeable positive effect. The impact of the particles, when charged, hits the atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere, exciting those atoms to create a beautiful and colorful sky show known as Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights, which may be seen Tuesday night in as far south as Iowa or Pennsylvania.

TagsGeomagnetic Storm, solar storm, Aurora Borealis, Aurora, Earth, Science