Aurora Borealis: Northern Lights Surge as Huge Solar Storm Reaches Earth

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Northern Lights Surge as Huge Solar Storm Reaches Earth

June 22 2015 10:12 PM
By Eric Holthaus

Thanks to an “impressive” solar explosion over the weekend, a dazzling display of Northern Lights is possible Monday night across northern Europe and North America—rivaling some of the best shows in years.

On Sunday, the summer solstice, a major explosion on the sun propelled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth at about 4 million miles per hour. It then swept up two smaller, slower coronal mass ejections from last week, creating one big smorgasbord of geomagnetic exuberance. The whole mess reached Earth Monday afternoon with a bit more energy than expected.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, could be visible high in the sky as far south as New York City, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon, and might appear as a dull glow on the horizon in places like Oklahoma City and Charlotte, North Carolina.



Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks

The only bad news is, it’s coming on one of the shortest nights of the year. ... That shouldn’t discourage you from heading out, though. This storm is of similar strength as the storm on March 17 of this year, where aurora were most impressive in Europe but also visible in Illinois, Ohio, and New Jersey. As an extra bonus, most of the country will be cloud-free on Monday night.

Solar storm that hit Earth could bring northern lights as far south as Iowa

[B2G]

1. Today is Tuesday. nt

[WDIM]

2. another cme arrives late tonight possibly tomorrow morning.

[uppityperson]

3. They were out last night, heard from friends who don't live in cloudy land

[nykym]

4. From the link

Federal forecasters said the northern lights may be able to be seen Tuesday night as far south as Iowa or Pennsylvania.

[Angry Dragon]

5. saw them last night

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Northern Lights wow sky watchers across Montana

Northern Lights wow sky watchers across Montana

By Jenna Cederberg On 24 June 2015

The Northern Lights made a stunning appearance throughout the western skies earlier this week, including a rare appearance in the southern portions of Montana and down into South Dakota.

Luckily for all of us who slept through the show, a handful of Montana Magazine readers snapped photos and sent them in.

Here are a few for your viewing pleasure:
....



The Northern Lights near Rapelje. Photo by Regina Rigby

[Baclava]

7. been seeing lots of pretty pictures