A severe solar storm this weekend threatens to trigger blackouts, disrupt navigation systems and knock out high-frequency radios around the world.
This is the first time since January 2005 the US Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G4 geomagnetic storm watch — the second-highest on a five-step scale — as multiple waves of solar energy bear down on the planet. Five eruptions of material from the sun’s atmosphere are forecast to arrive starting late on Friday and persist through Sunday.
“Watches at this level are very rare,” the Space Weather Prediction Center said.
While people will be protected by Earth’s magnetic field,…
