Northern Lights May Be Visible In MN This Week After Large Solar Flare
MINNESOTA — Scientists think a powerful geomagnetic storm will hit Earth on Thursday, potentially triggering significant displays of the northern lights in Minnesota early Friday morning and perhaps again that night.
"The aurora may be out tonight! Clouds should hold off for most until 5am, so if everything cooperates, you can see if you can spot it anywhere away from light pollution," the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities metro said.
If you do go out aurora hunting, find a dark sky with clear views to the north.
Severe geomagnetic storm activity was expected to strike Earth on Thursday, which could allow for dazzling northern lights displays as far south as Illinois and other mid-latitude states between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Friday. Aurora forecasting is tricky and data is still limited, but scientists say ethereal displays may be visible in the northern third of the country.
The Kp index — the measure of the strength of a burst of solar energy — is predicted to be 7 early Friday, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, which predicts a slightly lower G2 storm, but the Kp index typically results in aurora displays in mid-latitude states. A Kp index of 5 is predicted for Friday night.
The forecast comes after the Space Weather Prediction Center on Monday detected a solar flare that sent three separate coronal mass ejections from the sun on a direct path to Earth.
Together, they resulted in what solar physicist Ryan French at the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, called a rare “ halo CME .”
“Wow, I haven’t seen a halo CME this clear in a long time! Unlike an eruption at the edge of the Sun, a halo indicates plasma heading directly towards us,” he wrote Tuesday on the social media platform X. “Today’s halo eruption was caused by a large flare, predicted to cause significant aurora later this week!”
Space.com said aurora chasers should be on “ high alert for some potentially very impressive displays.”
“What a Whopper! Region 3500 on our Sun just fired a near X-class flare and launched a strong Earth-directed #solarstorm. Waiting for coronagraph imagery, but it looks like this storm could arrive by December 1. Excellent #aurora chances, possibly G3-G4 level with this one, especially considering there are at least two solar storms already on their way, ahead of this one,” Skov said on X Tuesday.
The CMEs aren’t expected to reach Earth’s atmosphere, which could cause havoc with the electrical grid and disrupt GPS signals and satellites.
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