Geomagnetic Storm Watch Issued for August 27-28
Listen to the story
NOAA is a US weather agency. It watches space weather too. NOAA has a new warning for Earth.
The sun made a big solar flare. A solar flare is a bright flash of light from the sun. The flare sent out CMEs. A CME is a big cloud of gas from the sun.
The CMEs are moving toward Earth. NOAA says they may arrive on August 27 and 28. NOAA calls this a geomagnetic storm watch. A geomagnetic storm happens when solar gas hits Earth's magnetic field.
The magnetic field is like an invisible shield around Earth. It protects us from the sun's gas.
This storm can make the northern lights brighter. The northern lights are colorful lights in the night sky. They usually appear near the North Pole.
People in more places might see the lights this week. The best time may be around Friday night.
Scientists will watch the sun closely. They want to know how strong the storm will be.
Vocabulary15 words
- solar flare
- a bright, sudden flash of light from the sun
- CME
- a big cloud of gas that comes from the sun
- geomagnetic storm
- a disturbance around Earth caused by the sun
- magnetic field
- an invisible force around Earth that protects it
- northern lights
- colorful lights that appear in the night sky
- NOAA
- a US agency that studies weather and space weather
- watch
- a warning that something might happen soon
- erupts
- bursts out suddenly
- display
- something people can see, like lights in the sky
- dazzling
- very bright and beautiful
- powerful
- very strong
- arrive
- to reach a place
- protects
- keeps something safe
- appear
- to become visible
- closely
- very carefully
Quiz
Answer key
1. A solar flare 2. — 3. NOAA
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
NOAA is a US weather agency. It watches _____ weather too. NOAA has a new warning for Earth.
The sun made a big _____. A solar flare is a bright flash of light from the sun. The flare sent out _____. A CME is a big cloud of gas from the sun.
The CMEs are moving toward Earth. NOAA says they may arrive on August 27 and 28. NOAA calls this a _____ storm watch.
This storm can make the _____ lights brighter. They usually appear near the North Pole.
People in more places might see the lights this week. The best time may be around _____ night.
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