South Africans were treated to a rare celestial spectacle this week after a severe geomagnetic storm lit up parts of the night sky and briefly made the Southern Lights visible as far north as the Western Cape, reports Cape town Etc .
According to the South African National Space Agency SANSA, a coronal mass ejection CME produced by a long-duration X1.9 solar flare on Sunday, 18 January, reached Earth earlier than expected late on Monday evening, 19 January. The impact triggered escalating geomagnetic activity to G4 severe storm levels, with SANSA confirming that conditions intensified rapidly after arrival.
In an update issued at 11:45am on Tuesday, SANSA said the CME reached Earth at 9:15pm on Monday, triggering escalating geomagnetic activity that initially peaked at G2 moderate levels before intensifying to G4 severe storm levels as conditions strengthened on Tuesday morning.
