An aurora show behind a curtain of clouds

Strong solar activity suggests the Northern Lights will dance over northern Quebec on Friday and Saturday, but clouds could spoil the show.

Two solar flares visible from the earth occurred on the bright star on Wednesday and Thursday. The electrically charged particles will soon collide with particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.

This phenomenon is likely to offer a beautiful spectacle to the inhabitants of Eastern Quebec, provided that the sky is clear.

What is simulated is that yes it will reach the earth, but perhaps not with full forceexplains the manager of space astronomy and planetary exploration missions at the Canadian Space Agency, Pierre Langlois.

I don’t want to promise anything, but it’s worth scanning the horizon to see if there’s any activity, especially on Saturdayhe mentions.

Cloudy weekend

However, the forecasts of the meteorologist for Environment Canada, Simon Legault, are forcing astronomy enthusiasts to come back to earth.

In Gaspésie, rain will fall Friday evening for the entire weekendhe says. Bas-Saint-Laurent will also be covered in clouds.

Residents of the Lower North Shore have the best chance of seeing the aurora on Friday evening. For Saturday, there is a clearing from Baie-Comeau to Sept-Îles, we could see the show if it shows up at that time. But there is always a risk that the clouds will spoil the showhe continues.

An even rarer phenomenon

It is not the auroras that will attract the interest of Pierre Langlois in the coming days, but rather another remarkable astronomical phenomenon: the passage of the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which will be visible from October 12 to 14. This is the moment when it will be closest to Earth.

As soon as the Sun is low, we have the possibility of seeing a beautiful spectacle, with binoculars or with the naked eye.

Earthlings in the northern hemisphere will be able to greet comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as it passes, which will continue its journey that began millions of years ago.