There was the solar eclipse, the Perseids, northern lights and lots of significant celestial events in recent months. And this evening, other colored rays can be seen.
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An intense solar storm is expected to hit Earth on Thursday and cause northern lights in regions further south than usual, a US agency announced, with the Sun currently close to its cyclical peak of activity.
The peak of this cycle which returns every 11 years led last May to the most “extreme” solar storm since 2003, caused by a series of coronal mass ejections (CME) from the Sun.
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When these particles arrive on Earth, they disrupt its magnetic field, sometimes resulting in impressive northern lights, but also a degradation of high-frequency communications, disruptions for satellites and overloads of the electrical network.
The particles moving at a speed of four million kilometers per hour, this corresponds to a geomagnetic storm of level 4 on a scale of 5, according to this organization. Last May’s solar storm reached level 5.
If weather conditions and minimal light pollution are met, the Northern Lights should be visible as far away as Northern California or Alabama in the southern United States.
More details in this article from the Journal de Montréal.
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