Angell Wine
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2005
- Messages
- 553
- Reaction score
- 4
I always want to see the northern lights. Looks like it might be a good night for it today:
AURORA WATCH: Sky watchers, be alert for auroras. A coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to brush past Earth tonight, sparking a mild geomagnetic storm. The display will probably favor high latitudes--e.g., Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska--but it could descend as well to northern-tier US states such as Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (continued below)
Auroras over Finland on Dec. 8th. Credit: Vesa Särkelä
The source of the CME is sunspot 930, which has been exploding regularly since it first appeared on Dec. 5th. The "angry sunspot" is slowly turning to face Earth. As it does, it might send more CMEs our way, and they would hit head-on rather than merely brushing past. By next week, Northern Lights could reach deep into the United States. Stay tuned. (And keep your fingers crossed.)
Edited by: Angell Wine
AURORA WATCH: Sky watchers, be alert for auroras. A coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to brush past Earth tonight, sparking a mild geomagnetic storm. The display will probably favor high latitudes--e.g., Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska--but it could descend as well to northern-tier US states such as Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (continued below)
Auroras over Finland on Dec. 8th. Credit: Vesa Särkelä
The source of the CME is sunspot 930, which has been exploding regularly since it first appeared on Dec. 5th. The "angry sunspot" is slowly turning to face Earth. As it does, it might send more CMEs our way, and they would hit head-on rather than merely brushing past. By next week, Northern Lights could reach deep into the United States. Stay tuned. (And keep your fingers crossed.)
Edited by: Angell Wine