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Second night of auroras possible amid ‘extreme’ solar storm

Friday’s storm was listed as hitting level five geomagnetic conditions, the highest on the scale. Saturday saw G3 to G5 conditions, with G4 or higher conditions predicted Sunday and G3 conditions possible into Monday.

But no major disruptions to power or communications networks appear to have been reported this time around, despite initial worries from authorities.

There have only been “preliminary reports of power grid irregularities, degradation to high-frequency communications, GPS and possibly satellite navigation”, the SWPC said.

Elon Musk, whose Starlink satellite internet operator has about 5,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, said his satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far.”

However China’s National Center for Space Weather issued a “red alert” on Saturday morning, warning the storm will impact communications and navigation in most areas of the country, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Auroras were visible in the northern half of the country, according to media reports.

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