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Solar flare to light up aurora Sunday night |
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July 15, 2017 |
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A geomagnetic storm on the sun two days ago is
expected to give Earth-bound sky watchers across
most of Canada and the northern U.S. a good
Northern Lights show Sunday night into Monday
morning.
The sky spectacle should be visible in Idaho,
Washington, Montana and other northern
states, according to NOAA's Space Weather
Prediction Center.
The event is the result of a solar flare that
erupted out of a sunspot late Thursday into
early Friday. The flare blasted out X-rays,
which caused a minor radio blackout over parts
of Asia, the Weather Network reported.
The flare also released a wave of charged
particles, known as a coronal mass ejection,
which take a couple of days to reach Earth.
The aurora forms when those particles flowing
from the sun get caught up in the Earth's
magnetic field. The particles interact with
molecules of atmospheric gases to cause the
famed glowing red and green colors of the
aurora.
NOAA has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for
the event and expects a "moderate" storm. |
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