Charged particles emitted by the Sun reached the Earth’s atmosphere and caused aurora borealis visible as far as Alabama and New Mexico on Tuesday night (11). The phenomenon began after coronal mass ejections (CME) that disturbed the Earth’s magnetic field and generated a geomagnetic storm classified as G4. Observers in several states recorded red and green lights in the night sky.
National Weather Service offices in New York, Oklahoma, Washington, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho and South Dakota posted images on social media. Three ejections have occurred in recent days, with the third being the most energetic and expected to arrive at noon on Wednesday (12). NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center monitors the event from Boulder, Colorado.
- Interaction with oxygen produces green or red lights.
- Nitrogen generates blue and purple tones in the atmosphere.
- The phenomenon occurs more frequently near the North Pole.
Solar ejections and intensity
Two ejections have already reached Earth and caused initial impacts. Shawn Dahl, service coordinator, reported that the third ejection has greater energy.
PreVisions indicate continued visibility into Wednesday night across northern parts of the US. Areas with clear skies include Minnesota, Wisconsin, parts of the Dakotas and southern Michigan.
Regions with better conditions
Clouds cover much of the country, especially the West Coast and Northeast. Favorable conditions may extend visibility into the Mid-Atlantic and Tennessee Valley.
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado see chances if the lights expand. Parts of the southern US also have observation potential.
Marc Chenard, meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center, highlighted areas with cloudy skies.
Effects beyond visual spectacle
Geomagnetic storms affect electrical networks with voltage problems. Satellite operations suffer interference.
GPS navigation shows degradation during the event. Canada and the United Kingdom have issued similar warnings.
Forecasts for the following night
Aurora remains visible in northern Britain, with clouds limiting observation. Northern Scotland offers better conditions.
England and Wales register a possibility in eastern areas with clear intervals. Recent solar activity raises the rating to G4 on the NOAA scale.
Observations recorded in specific locations
Photographers captured images at Hulah Lake, Oklahoma, on Tuesday. Lights appeared east of Denver and near Valley Falls, Kansas.
Santa Fe, New Mexico, had records in the city center. Phenomenon results from the collision of particles with atmospheric gases.
The Space Weather Prediction Center monitors successive arrivals of ejections. G5 represents the most severe level on the scale used.
Long paragraph subheading
Aurora borealis appears when high-speed solar particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and excite gases in the upper atmosphere, producing varying colors depending on the element involved, such as oxygen for green and red or nitrogen for blue and purple, and this process typically occurs at high latitudes, but intense storms like the current one expand visibility to southern regions, allowing residents of states like Alabama and New Mexico to witness the recent unprecedented event, while experts monitor impacts on critical infrastructure, including fluctuations in power and signal grids. of satellites, and the current event arises from multiple coronal mass ejections released by the Sun in the previous days, with the most powerful still in transit to reinforce geomagnetic activity in the coming hours.
