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The northern lights could grace the skies further south than normal this week because of a solar storm that could affect Earth, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
The center issued a strong geomagnetic stormknown as G3 – the third highest level out of five – from July 29th to 31st. Activity will likely peak on Tuesday when aurora-causing solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the Sun reach Earth, according to NOAA.
Strong geomagnetic storms are rare, the Space Weather Prediction Center said, but they are more common than G5, or extreme geomagnetic storm, which occurred on May 10 and 11. auroras that dazzled many places around the globe who don’t normally see the ribbons of colorful, dancing light.
If the conditions predicted for G3 occur, auroras could be visible as far south as Illinois and Oregon, the Space Weather Prediction Center said.
Coronal mass ejections are large clouds of ionized gas called plasma and magnetic fields that erupt from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. When these explosions are aimed at Earth, as happened this weekend, they can cause geomagnetic storms or large disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. Earth.
As the Sun approaches solar maximum – the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, predicted for this year – it becomes more active, and researchers have observed increasingly intense solar flares erupting from the fiery orb.
In the United Kingdom, the Met Office said on Monday that auroras could be visible in Scotland for the next three nights, with a G3 storm possible. In Australia, the Department of Meteorology said a coronal mass ejection arrival on July 30 could result in “significant geomagnetic activity and auroras visible overnight locally.”
Observing auroras is a game of chance, but the fickle phenomenon is most likely to be visible an hour or two after midnight, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
For the best position, find a place with dark skies, away from artificial light, and look north (or south in the Southern Hemisphere). Cameras can capture auroras even when the naked eye cannot. To get the best photo, use a tripod and share your observations with community science site and NASA partner Aurorasaurus.
What causes auroras
Increased solar activity causes auroras that dance around Earth’s poles, known as the northern lights, or aurora borealis, and the southern lights, or aurora australis.
When energized particles from coronal mass ejections hit Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere to create different colored lights in the sky.
The solar storm that hit Earth in early May was the strongest in two decades, according to NASAand the barrage of solar activity has created one of the strongest auroral displays ever recorded in the last 500 years, with auroras visible in the southern US and northern India.
Sunspots, which release solar flares and coronal mass ejections that trigger auroras, are driven by the star’s strong and constantly changing magnetic fields.
Alerts issued by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and other agencies help operators of power grids and commercial satellites mitigate potential negative impacts from a solar storm.
May’s geomagnetic superstorm had minimal impact on critical infrastructure; however, a G5 storm that occurred in 2003 resulted in power outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
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