THE #SKY EXPLODED': A CME gently grazed Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 26th. At first it seemed like nothing would happen. Then, "the sky exploded," says Terence Murtagh, who took this picture using his iPhone 16 outside Tromso in #Norway:

"In many decades of viewing and photographing #auroras, I've never seen so many spectacular bright multicoloured coronas bursting over the sky," he says. "I couldn't believe my eyes as a small group of us were transfixed by this cosmic kaleidoscope. It was probably caused by the tail of the weak CME.

#X-ray #Solar #Flares
6-hr max: C8 0324 UT Oct27
24-hr: M8 0820 UT Oct26

https://spaceweather.com/

https://youtube.com/watch?v=inRzIx_xY3U

A quick summary of why we are getting #auroras now at low latitudes.

#Magnetic #PoleFlip - Introduction

#wow
#Auroras
Taken by Dominique on October 10, 2024 @ Clonmany #Donegal #Ireland

#Auroras
Taken by Matti Helin on October 7, 2024 @ Southwest #Finland

#Auroras
Taken by Thomas Moore on October 6, 2024 @ Fort McMurray, Alberta, #Canada

HE STRONGEST #FLARE YET: Sunspot AR3842 exploded again today, producing the strongest #solarflare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the #X9.1-category blast:

#Radiation from the flare ionized the top of #Earth's atmosphere and caused a deep shortwave blackout over Africa and the South Atlantic. Ham radio operators in the area may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as a half an hour after 12:18 UTC.

Of greater interest is the #CME. Preliminary SOHO coronagraph images show a halo CME emerging from the blast site. This CME will probably strike Earth on Oct. 6th, adding its effect to that of an earlier CME expected to arrive on Oct. 4th. #Auroras are therefore likely this weekend.
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: #X8 1218 UT Oct03
24-hr: X8 1218 UT Oct03

RARE #BLUE #AURORAS CAUSED BY RESONANT SCATTERING: The severe geomagnetic storm of Sept. 16-17 produced something that even longtime #aurora watchers rarely see: Blue Auroras. "I photographed them at dawn on Sept. 17th," says Alan Dyer, who sends this picture from Gleichen, #Alberta:

Auroras are usually green and red. Blue is very unusual. It takes a strong geomagnetic storm to produce them -- plus one extra ingredient. "High altitude sunlight was hitting the blue rays," explains Dyer.

The process is called "resonant scattering." At the top of the aurora zone, ionized nitrogen molecules (N2+) naturally produce blue light. The blue glow is usually too faint to see. However, when these ions get hit by morning sunlight, they capture and re-emit photons from the sun, amplifying the blue color

https://spaceweather.com/

Göran Strand photographed a rainbow-outburst of #auroras over Östersund, #Sweden:

#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M1 1756 UT Sep13
24-hr: M5 0656 UT Sep13

https://spaceweather.com/

#Auroras
Taken by Jónína Óskarsdóttir on September 12, 2024 @ Fáskrúðsfjörður #Iceland

#CME IMPACT SPARKS GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Geomagnetic storms are underway following the arrival of a CME on Aug. 27th. At first, the CME's impact appeared weak and, indeed, it did not cause an immediate geomagnetic storm. Since then, however, magnetic fields in the CME's wake have linked to Earth's magnetic field, causing storms of category G2 (with a chance of G3) on Aug. 28th. CME impact alerts: SMS Text

"This morning, on August 28, 2024, around 1 AM (UTC) faint #auroras appeared over the #Czech-Republic," reports Petr Horálek, who sends this picture from the shore of Seč Lake:

"What a year, so many auroras from central Europe have not been visible since 2001!" he says.

https://spaceweather.com/

#auroras
Taken by PAUL D. MALEY on August 26, #2024 @ Churchill, Manitoba #Canada

#AURORAS SHOULD NOT BE ORANGE (BUT THEY ARE): During this week's severe (G4-class) geomagnetic storm, Tony Bendele of Pennsylvania saw something rare and a little mysterious. "Orange auroras!" he says. "Yes, #Orange. I had never seen this color in auroras before." He took this picture before sunrise on Aug. 12th:

"At first, I thought something was wrong, so I checked this image numerous times. The color orange is really there," he says.

What's so mysterious about orange? Auroras get their colors from specific atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere. For instance, green is due to oxygen, while pink comes from nitrogen. The problem is, there’s nothing in the air capable of making bright orange.

Theoretically, nitrogen and oxygen (N2, N2+, and O2+) can produce emissions at orange wavelengths. However, these emissions are very weak compared to other competing colors produced by the same molecules. Auroras should not be orange.

#auroras over Minnesota:

"My grandson is a huge space weather enthusiast and he was thrilled to watch the beautiful Northern Lights with me tonight," says photographer Greg Ash of Ely, MN. While Ash's family watched the display from Minnesota, photographic red auroras descended as far south as Nebraska.

Minor storming is expected to continue as Earth moves through the magnetized wake of these CMEs. Storm levels could jump to category G2 if another CME arrives on Aug. 1st,
THE #SUN IS LITERALLY CRACKLING WITH #FLARES: Seldom is the sun peppered with so many unstable sunspots. Today, there are at least 7 active regions capable of producing strong Earth-directed solar flares. This time-compressed movie shows the past 24 hours of explosions:

All of these are strong M-class solar flares. An even stronger X-flare may be in the offing with radio blackouts and perhaps a CME

X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M8 0709 UT Aug01
24-hr: M8 0709 UT Aug01
https://spaceweather.com/

#AURORAS IN #AFRICA: For the first time in more than 30 years, Spaceweather.com has received photos of auroras in Africa. They appeared during the historic geomagnetic storm on May 10, 2024. The latest submissions come from Tivoli Astro Farm in Namibia where Richard Payne photographed the display:

"We could see the auroras with the naked eye," says Payne. "Visually, it was a deep red and very large--about 45 degrees vertical and 135 degrees horizontal." Another guest at the farm, Georg Woeber, also saw the sky turn red. "It was amazing to see this happen from the Tropic of Capricorn (23° S)," says Woeber.

RARE SOUTH PACIFIC #AURORAS CONFIRM 'GREAT STORM': On the south Pacific island of New Caledonia, no one expects to see auroras. Ever. Situated about halfway between Tonga and Australia, the cigar-shaped island is too close to the equator for Northern or Southern Lights. Yet on May 10, 2024, this happened:

"I have rarely been so happy when taking a photo!" says Frédéric Desmoulins, who photographed the display from Boulouparis in the island's south province. "I could see the red color of the auroras with my naked eye. According to the New Caledonian Astronomy Society, these photos are the first for this territory."

"The auroral visibility from New Caledonia is really unique and extremely valuable," says Hisashi Hayakawa, a space weather researcher at Japan's Nagoya University. "As far as we know, the last time sky watchers saw auroras in the area was during the Carrington Event of Sept. 1859, when auroras were sighted from a ship in the Coral Sea."

Hayakawa specializes in historical studies of great auroral storms. He tries to go back in time as far as possible. The problem is, magnetometers and modern sensors didn't exist hundreds or thousands of years ago. Instead, he looks for records of aurora sightings in old newspapers, diaries, ships logs, even cuneiform tablets. Great Storms are identified by their low latitude--anything with naked-eye auroras below 30° MLAT (magnetic latitude).

https://spaceweather.com/

#AURORAS OVER THE GRAND CANYON: You know a #solar-storm is big when it produces auroras over the #GrandCanyon. Brian A. Klimowski photographed the rare display on May 11, #2024:

https://spaceweather.com/

Great #auroras all over northern hemisphere

Keep cool, keep in shade, make sure of staying hydrated.

Reduce use of electric grids and appliances, disconnect TVs and antennas when possible.

Entertain children , seniors and animals around you .

Life principles bind us with uncommon intelligence and wisdom.

#quote from #pa

#X-ray #Solar #Flares
6-hr max: #X4 0635 UT May06
24-hr: X4 0635 UT May06

A #CME expected to hit #Earth on May 5th appears to have arrived right on time. Solar wind data suggest a close encounter around 1800 UT in good accord with NASA and NOAA predictions. The resulting G1-class geomagnetic storm sparked mid-latitude auroras in Europe:

" #Auroras surprisingly appeared here in the Czech Republic at latitude +50 N," reports photographer Petr Horálek at the Institute of Physics in Opava. "They were visible to the naked eye despite the cirrus clouds."

This might not have been a direct hit. Normally, on-target CMEs produce a sharp discontinuity in the speed of solar wind blowing around our planet. Not this time. Instead, a gentle ripple of south-pointing magnetism washed over the Earth for several hours--typical of near-miss CMEs that catch us in their wake.

More CMEs may be on the way. Yesterday's flurry of X- and M-class solar flares from hyperactive sunspot AR3663 probably hurled some debris toward Earth. Confirmation awaits overdue coronagraph data from SOHO

ARCTIC #AURORAS: Around the Arctic Circle, many #aurora tour guides have already packed their cameras for the end of the season. Marianne Bergli of Tromsø, Norway, is glad she waited one more night. "Auroras filled the sky on April 4th," she reports. "It was a fantastic end to our touring season."

A #solar #wind stream brushed Earth's magnetic field on April 4th. It did not cause a global geomagnetic storm; the planetary K-index peaked at 4. Nevertheless, the Arctic light show was sublime.

Soon, summer sunlight will make these displays impossible to see inside the Arctic Circle. That's why Bergli and others are going on vacation. "We start again in September," she says
https://spaceweather.com/

#AURORAS AND THE 'DEVIL COMET': If you want to photograph a beautiful #comet, this is the week to do it. For the next 7+ days, "devil comet" 12P/Pons-Brooks will pop out of the twilight after sunset, its magnificent tail pointing up into the night sky. Michal Kaluzny sends this picture from the Solheimajokull glacier lagoon in #Iceland:

"Fortunately, the auroras weren't too strong, allowing for the delicate tail of the comet to be exposed," says Kaluzny. Also in Iceland, Wioleta Gorecka photographed the comet emerging from a bright green curtain of Northern Lights.

You don't need to be in Iceland to photograph this comet. It's visible around the world, shining like a 5th magnitude star in the constellation Aries. Technically, it's bright enough to see with the naked eye, but in practice you'll need binoculars or a small telescope to pull it out of the western twilight. Cameras with night sky settings should have no trouble recording the comet's tail in wide-angle landscape shot

https://spaceweather.com/