Posted on 08/16/2022 4:58:21 PM PDT by John W
The sun has spat out two clouds of plasma in the past two days, which might trigger beautiful aurora displays observable much farther south than usual.
The two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), eruptions of charged particles from the sun's upper atmosphere known as the corona, burst from the sun on Aug. 14 and 15 respectively, according to the U.K. forecaster Met Office (opens in new tab). As the CMEs cross the 900,000-mile (150 million kilometers) distance between the star and our planet, they might cannibalize each other, according to SpaceWeather.com (opens in new tab), creating a single super powerful CME.
CME cannibalization occurs when the sun launches two eruptions within a short period of time, with the second of the two being more energetic, and therefore faster than the first.
The double CME is currently expected to reach Earth on Thursday (Aug. 18) and might trigger aurora displays that could be visible as far south as New York and the north of England.
Auroras are a by-product of geomagnetic storms caused by interactions between Earth's magnetic field and the magnetized plasma from the sun. In addition to those mesmerizing phenomena, geomagnetic storms can also trigger power blackouts and disrupt satellite links and radio communications. The United Kingdom's national weather service, Met Office, predicts the upcoming geomagnetic storm to be only minor and doesn't expect significant disruption.
There are currently five numbered sunspot regions on the visible disk of the sun, generating solar flares, bursts of electromagnetic radiation that also affect Earth. Unlike CMEs, which take up to three days to arrive, solar flares reach the planet at the speed of light, which means forecasters can give no advance warning as the planet experiences the effect the moment the flares are seen.
Within the past 24 hours, there have been three moderate-class flares from the most active sunspot region, which triggered minor radio blackouts, Met Office said. The space weather forecasters expect further flares over the coming days. In addition to the two CMEs, there is also some increased solar wind flowing from a coronal hole, which will enhance the aurora displays expected toward the end of this week.
‘Cannibal’ solar flares , really , who makes this crap up , forest fires are now wild fires , LOL
i recall seeing it in ne ohio before light pollution
As often as “Muni Light” broke down in Cleveland, there were plenty of opportunities...
The senior writer of this article is science and space journalist. She doesn’t know the distance between the sun and earth is 93 million miles. Guess that is too much to ask to be accurate in reporting?
The coolest aurora I ever saw was years ago, in wintertime, near Cadillac, Michigan.
Saw the only on I saw in key west.
No kidding! I noticed the same thing. Some “science writer”…!
UPDATED STORM FORECAST: NOAA forecasters have upgraded their geomagnetic storm watch from category G2 (moderate) to category G3 (strong) in response to models suggesting multiple CME impacts on Aug. 18-19. During such storms naked-eye auroras can descend into the USA as far south as Illinois and Oregon (geomagnetic latitude 50 degrees). Although the storm could become "strong", power grids and satellites are in no danger. Extreme storms are required for that.
i recall seeing it in ne ohio before light pollution
I live almost on 45 and in the rare situations where the sky is clear I can see them. I would think that at least a good part of NY should be able to see them too. All of England is above that, why wouldnt they see them?
Then again, I once had someone at the Adler Planetarium tell met that humans cant see the Pleiades with the naked eye. Some of these "experts" arent exactly geniuses and the journalists are less so.
The sun is ejecting deadly CO2...
Hold your breath!
I’ve seen auroras lots of times in Upstate New York. You have to be out after midnight to see them usually. It helps to be away from cities, but isn’t a requirement. Sky has to be clear of course, which is a little atypical where I live.
Are the last two sentences consistent with what they usually say in these instances?
I’ve only seen a few in CNY.
If you ever see one, please ping me or PM me.
I am often up at night for bathroom trips or a snack and always check FR.
We are at about the same latitude in NH as you are/we were in CNY.
My favorite is, “bomb cyclone”. Heavy rain anyone?
That would be newsworthy.
She probably graduated from a school and program where details and facts were racist.
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