Aurora Borealis Covers Sky After Solar Storm
Arab Weather - The skies of many areas of the American states witnessed the appearance of the red aurora borealis after the latest solar eruption. The charged particles released by the sun during the past week reached the Earth, causing a geomagnetic storm whose effects extended to include areas far from the poles, and even reached some American states, especially those close to Canada.
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Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections
Since early October, solar observatories have been tracking a series of solar flares accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), prompting scientists to warn of severe geomagnetic storms. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy that can disrupt Earth’s power grids and communications. CMEs are charged particles ejected from the Sun that, when they interact with Earth’s atmosphere, cause the aurora to appear.
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Red Aurora Sightings
Several photographers were able to document the red aurora caused by the geomagnetic storm. Photographer Alex Rissell wrote on X from Watertown, South Dakota:
"Easily the deepest shade of red I've ever seen in an aurora! And it's still going strong!"
Peter Forster, who captured the aurora from Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, posted:
“I've never seen colors like that on camera before. They were only briefly visible to the naked eye.”
UNREAL!!! Unedited iPhone shots from Watertown, South Dakota!! Easily the deepest reds I've ever seen in the aurora! Still going!! #aurora pic.twitter.com/zgBJryltcH
- Alex Resel (@aresel_) October 7, 2024
Aurora from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia at 8pm this evening.
Never seen colors like this on camera. Was briefly visible to the naked eye.
Elkton, VA pic.twitter.com/TFdYjX2Svt
— Peter Forister (@forecaster25) October 7, 2024
10/06/2024
9:50 PMJust when I lost hope about the clouds ruining the show tonight, the sky suddenly cleared up like magic. #aurora must've known my FOMO & heard my wishes because the insane red light show took over! What a perfect #northernlights surprise. #solarstorm #CME pic.twitter.com/d0qwZoqDny
— Rj Roldan (@rjayroldan) October 7, 2024
Naked-eye red aurora visible in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia right now. 8pm pic.twitter.com/Xj47PRgK0E
— Peter Forister (@forecaster25) October 7, 2024
Solar flare power
While images of the aurora have flooded social media, experts have suggested that the aurora activity was not as strong as they had anticipated, despite recent powerful solar flares. Ryan French, a British astrophysicist, said the solar flare on October 3 was the strongest since 2017.
Geomagnetic Storm Warnings
Dr. Tamitha Skov, a space weather physicist, reported on Channel X:
"This could be the last big storm of this solar event, causing the aurora to brighten and then fade as far south as Missouri, USA! Watch the show while it lasts, because the storm could soon be waning."
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