View of aurora borealis storm around midnight in Yellowknife, Canada on December 23, 2020.
The Northern Lights—that ethereal glow of colored lights in the sky around the Arctic Circle—could be visible from unusually southerly locations this week. That’s because a G2-class solar storm erupted on our Sun a few days ago, throwing inevitable bright auroras across Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia.
Caused by disturbances in the magnetosphere created by the solar wind—a stream of charged particles from the Sun—witnessing the astronomical phenomenon is a transformational bucket-list experience. Strong aurora are being reported above Canada, and in Scotland.
It could be the start of a great month for aurora-watchers.
According to SpaceWeather.com, not only did a G2-class solar storm hit on March 1, 2021, but G1-class storms are also possible—and this weekend could also see bright aurora.
It’s not just a chance affair. March is known to be the most geomagnetically active month of the year, with geomagnetic disturbances twice as likely in spring (and also in fall) as in winter and summer.
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That’s because of a phenomenon that is active around the equinoxes, the next of which will occur on Saturday, 20 March, 2021.
It’s connected with the geometry of Earth at equinox—“equal night.” Earth’s axis tilts by 23.5°, which explains the seasons we experience, but at equinox it means Earth is perpendicular to the Sun.
The solar wind’s magnetic field is facing southward relative to the Earth and that means that during equinox our planet’s geometry is lined-up nicely for charged particles from the Sun to be accelerated down the field lines of the Earth’s magnetic field.
However, this recent activity has been the most intense of the new cycle of the Sun. Solar activity never stops, but from a “solar minimum” in 2019/2020 our star is now entering a more active phase as it builds to “solar maximum” around 2025.
In effect, the Sun is waking up.
View of aurora borealis storm during midnight in Yellowknife, Canada. (Photo by Dominic Chiu/SOPA ... [+]
Regardless of solar activity and the geometry of our planet at different times of the year, aurorae are constantly occurring at both poles. Northern lights tend to be called the aurora borealis and southern lights the aurora australis.
Although the latter can be glimpsed most easily between March and September south of New Zealand, the relative lack of landmass makes the aurora australis far more difficult to see that its near-identical northern counterpart.
Around the Arctic Circle it’s possible to see the northern lights between September and March—which is merely when there are sufficient hours of darkness—in Alaska, northern Canada, Iceland, Greenland, northern Norway, northern Sweden, northern Finland and northern Russia.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
#News | https://sciencespies.com/news/northern-lights-likely-this-week-as-strongest-solar-storm-yet-in-suns-cycle-kicks-off-aurora-season/
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