Skywatchers across the U.S. will have their chances to view the Northern Lights this week as a geomagnetic storm takes place.
A severe (G4) geomagnetic storm watch is in effect today as people prepare for pretty lights to dazzle the night sky across the Northern U.S., offering stargazers a treat. This is due to the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME).
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The Northern Lights could be visible across more than 25 states due to a powerful CME currently hurling through space and on a collision course with Earth.
This event stems from an X1.9-class solar flare that erupted from the sun at approximately 11:09 a.m. on Sunday.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, X-class flares represent the most intense category on the solar flare scale, with an X-class event being 10 times more powerful than a mid-range M-class flare.
Solar flares are large eruptions of electromagnetic radiation from the sun lasting from minutes to hours. The sudden outburst of electromagnetic energy travels at the speed of light, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
The Northern Lights shine atop a blue glow of bioluminescence at Cape Flattery, Washington on July 25, 2023.
(Mathew Nichols Photography / Facebook / FOX Weather)
Since this type of energy travels at the speed of light, it reaches Earth in just eight minutes. This ionized the upper atmosphere and triggered a level R3 (strong) radio blackout over Western South America and eastern South Pacific.
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As this occurred, the flare was joined by a CME, which is a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona. Unlike the flare’s light, a CME is a physical “bubble” of solar matter that travels much more slowly, acting like a shock wave as it moves through the solar system.
“Agencies around the world have modeled this specific eruption and reached a consensus that the western flank of the CME will impact Earth’s magnetic field this evening,” the FOX Forecast Center said.
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(FOX Weather)
Sadly, cloud cover could interfere with viewing for many people in various states. According to the FOX Forecast Center, overcast skies are expected across the Northern Rockies, Central Plains and Great Lakes region. The Northeast could get lucky, with a mix of cloud cover and a chance of visibility.
The best chance for viewers to get a clear view of the light show would be in the Pacific Northwest, eastern Dakotas, and Minnesota. If the storm reaches the predicted G4 (severe) levels, the Northern Lights may be photographed as far south as New Mexico or Alabama.
The SWPC uses a five-point scale for the severity of geomagnetic, solar radiation and radio blackout storm events, ranging from minor to extreme.
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said this is the largest solar radiation storm in 20 years.
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A geomagnetic storm is a significant disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth, according to SWPC.
