Know Your FOX Weather: Northern Lights
FOX Weather meteorologist Stephen Morgan breaks down the Northern Lights and how you can see them.
A series of geomagnetic disturbances that have departed the sun and are heading for Earth could give some residents in the Northern Hemisphere a light show in the form of the Aurora Borealis during the next week.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said influences from what are known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and a Coronal Hole High Speed Stream (CH HSS) could reach Earth as early as Sunday, with effects lasting through Friday evening.
Space experts admit determining the exact strength of the activity is challenging, but NOAA expects parts of the globe to reach at least a Level 6 out of 9 on the Kp Index scale.
Monday night’s aurora forecast. (NOAA)
7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
The scale is used to characterize the magnitude of geomagnetic activity, and when values reach at least a 7, cities such as Seattle and Green Bay, Wisconsin, start to see significant chances of witnessing the Northern Lights if skies are clear and light pollution is low.
So far, during the upcoming event, values aren’t expected to reach much above a 4 on the Kp index, which could allow lights to be visible as far south as the U.S.-Canada border if skies are clear.
Cloud cover can inhibit viewing, and large sections of the northern U.S. are forecast to be under a decent layer of clouds, as is common during the fall and winter.
Geomagnetic Storm Watch issued
Due to the increased activity, a Geomagnetic Storm Watch was issued before the arrival of the event that warned of the potential interference with communication systems and spacecraft operations.
If NOAA experts believe the event could be stronger than originally anticipated, the alert could be upgraded to a higher-level warning.
During the most significant geometric storms, widespread power outages are possible, and communication systems are subject to failure.
Kp index scale of typical sightings of the Northern Lights.
SEE THE OBJECTS HUMANS LEFT BEHIND ON THE MOON
Geomagnetic storms could become more frequent over the next year as the sun begins to move into the solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle.
A solar cycle is a sequence the sun’s magnetic field goes through every 11 years, where the field flips.
“Solar magnetic variability regulates the frequency and severity of space weather events and hazards, which can interfere with the electrical grid, degrade GPS signals, increase orbital drag on satellites, and pose radiation hazards to airline crews and astronauts,” the SWPC said.
A failure to anticipate the strength of a geomagnetic storm in 2022 was blamed for the loss of more than three dozen SpaceX satellites that became inoperable and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.
