New Yorkers were treated to a spectacular display of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, on Thursday night. The rare event was caused by a geomagnetic storm triggered by a massive solar flare. The lights were visible for about 15 minutes and were seen as far south as Washington DC and Kentucky.
Get ready for a celestial show! A strong geomagnetic storm is predicted to illuminate the skies with auroras, potentially visible as far south as Oregon, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. This phenomenon, caused by a massive solar eruption, is a reminder of the sun’s powerful influence on our planet.
Get ready for a potential celestial spectacle! A massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from a powerful X-class solar flare is headed towards Earth, expected to trigger a geomagnetic storm that could bring vibrant auroras to lower latitudes. This could mean a chance to witness the northern lights in the United States, even as far south as the US-Canada border, starting Saturday night.
The sun erupted with two powerful X-class solar flares on August 5th, prompting concerns about potential geomagnetic storms. While the first flare, originating from sunspot AR3767, is unlikely to directly impact Earth, the second flare from AR3780 is still being investigated for potential consequences. These flares highlight the sun’s immense power and the importance of monitoring space weather activity.
The sun released its strongest flare in nearly two decades, but fortunately, Earth avoided the brunt of its impact. The X8.7 flare erupted from a region of the sun rotating away from our planet, mitigating potential effects on Earth’s power and communications systems. While a coronal plasma ejection occurred along with the flare, it also appeared to be heading away from Earth.
The sun has released its strongest solar flare of the current cycle, an X8.7 category event. While the flare is unlikely to cause geomagnetic storms or aurora activity due to its location near the edge of the sun’s visible side, high-frequency radio blackouts on Earth are still possible. The flare originated from a massive sunspot group responsible for last week’s X2.2 flare. Solar flares are bursts of electromagnetic radiation caused by magnetic disturbances on the sun’s surface. When magnetic lines in the sun’s atmosphere tangle and snap, they release energy in the form of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. Solar flares can also trigger coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which can impact Earth with geomagnetic storms and auroras.
