As trillion of masses brace themselves for a spell ofpretty bad weather , it turn out we ’re seeing a dissimilar type of violent storm altogether this week : a geomagnetic storm , being fired at us straight from the Sun itself .
The culprit is the Sun’scoronal trap eminent - speed stream . Although the Sun is presently point into itssolar lower limit – the form in the 11 - yr solar cycle when it has the least activity – hole in the corona discharge can still appear , and this means solar breaking wind is spare to escape into space . If the yap befall to be facing Earth , as one appear to be at the moment , then our magnetic field of force gets battered by a solar storm – and that ’s what we ’re seeing this calendar week .
Despite certainalarmist headline , the storm conditions are only restrained , peaking at a G2 class storm ( ona scalewhich tops out at G5 ) . For people living at high latitudes , that means possible problems at power stations as changes in the Earth ’s magnetic study slip voltage alarum and – if the storm lasts longer than experts look – damage transformers . orbiter can also be affect as the Earth ’s atmosphere is more or less extend , and ham wireless enthusiasts may see dislocation as high - frequency radio wafture propagation temporarily fades .
For many mass , however , the most stiff manifestation of the solar storm is , of form , the aurora borealis , or Northern Lights .
The sky was lit up with some striking aurora displaysabout this time last yearthanks to a G3 solar tempest – strong than the one we ’re currently experiencing . However , theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA)explains that a G2 violent storm can still make auroras at latitudes as humbled as New York and Idaho – and this calendar week ’s might see multitude in Scotland , Toronto , and even some domain of Illinois stick their cameras out to enchant the video display .
Even within these latitudes , the best place to see the aurora is somewhere with as minuscule abstemious pollution as possible , as local Anchorage reporter and dawn hunting watch Joe Vigil showed with his photos from Alaska .
The Northern Lights ' less well - sleep with ( but equally beautiful ) cousin , the Southern lights , or aurora australis , has also been seeable thanks to the increased solar action . Residents of Melbourne shared the snaps they took as their skies were lit up last night .
Although the storm top out last night , NOAAexpects it to continue – albeit only as a G1 , or small-scale , class storm – until September 12 . So if you have n’t been able to see it yet , now ’s your prospect – useNOAA ’s three - day aurora forecastto find out where to search . Happy hunt !
