Elon Musk warns of 'degraded service' as solar storm ‘frying' Starlink satellites

Starlink, a satellite internet provider owned by SpaceX, on Saturday prepared the world for "degraded service" as the Earth was currently caught in the eye of a severe geomagnetic storm sparked by high-intensity solar flares the sun is lashing the whole solar system with.

The geomagnetic storm, the biggest in two decades, may persist over the weekend and would be hard on navigation systems, power grids, and satellite navigation among other services.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, informed in an X post that although Starlink satellites were under a lot of pressure, they were holding up so far.

“Major geomagnetic solar storm is happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far,” Musk wrote on X.

Starlink owns the majority of the satellites in orbit and uses inter-satellite laser links to provide internet coverage around the globe.

When was Earth struck by solar storm?

The Earth was struck by a powerful solar storm, which, according to all the available estimates is the strongest in more than two decades. The storm triggered some breathtaking Northern Lights from Tasmania to Britain.

What are solar flares made of?

However, it was more than just a light show as it carried potential risk to satellites orbiting the Earth and power grids and may last through the weekend. The first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are made up of plasma and magnetic fields, fell out of the sun just after 1600 GMT, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Centre.

Geomagnetic storm upgraded to "extreme"

The storm was later upgraded to an "extreme" geomagnetic storm, the first of its kind since the "Halloween Storms" in October 2003, which caused blackouts in Sweden and inflicted damage on power infrastructure in South Africa.

More solar flares to hit Earth

As per predictions, more CMEs are expected to hit the planet in the coming days. The sight of the auroras sparked by the solar storm flooded social media with awe-inspiring photos from Northern Europe and Australasia.