Aurora Could Be Visible From These 15 States Sunday
Google News
Topline
The northern lights could be seen from some states in the northern continental United States on Sunday night and early Monday morning, a forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed, as effects from solar winds begin to reach the Earth in the early morning hours.
Solar winds could impact the aurora early on Monday morning, forecasters said.
Getty Images
Key Facts
Forecasters at NOAA predicted a Kp index of five out of nine on Sunday night, indicating the aurora could be brighter and visible further from the magnetic north pole.
The Earth could see some minor geomagnetic storms beginning early Monday morning, NOAA showed in its most recent three-day space weather forecast, which could also cause the lights to be visible further south.
What Space Weather Is Impacting The Aurora?
High speed streams from a coronal hole could cause minor geomagnetic storms starting Monday morning, according to NOAA. Coronal holes are regions of the Sun made up of cooler plasma, and appear darker in x-ray or ultraviolet images. Solar winds, often called high speed streams, escape from these regions and can travel toward Earth, where they interact with the planet’s magnetic field and produce geomagnetic storms. The storms expected this week are only minor—a G1 on NOAA’s scale out of five. However, even these minor storms can cause the aurora to appear further south than usual, in the continental United States.
Google News
Source link
