It’s possible that solar flares will continue to occur from the sunspot in the following months as well and this could mean more chances to see the Northern Lights outside its usual place
The Northern Lights is set to appear across some locations as the sun continues to have consistent solar storms.
A colour-filled sky could be making a return around early June between the 6th and 9th. The sun rotates on its axis every 27 days so we were not affected by recent solar storms, but as it comes back around and the consistency keeps up – there is a chance the event will repeat itself.
A major solar flare was recorded by the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft on May 20 – it occurred behind the sun. It was rated as an X12 which has not happened since September 2017 and scientists believe this is a sign there will be more solar flares.
According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, the aurora will be visible in some areas of the US, Europe, and Canada. In Europe, they could be visible in Norway, Sweden, Trondheim, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki.
Ryan French, a solar physicist at the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, announced the major flare on X, formerly Twitter. French said: “Although not visible to Earth, old AR 13664 (responsible for recent solar storms) just popped off its biggest flare yet! Measured by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft behind the Sun, the flare is estimated as an X12-class, this flare also caused a huge CME behind the Sun.”
The solar flare is a massive sunspot that’s 15 times wider than Earth. These sunspots are caused by intense magnetic activity, the sun and solar flares are caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the sun’s magnetic fields. This energy causes a “solar storm” and if the sunspot is facing the Earth it can be seen from the Earth.
The solar physicist also suggested that the sunspot would be visible from Earth again on June 6. The previous solar storm also occurred during the new moon allowed for a clearer view of the Northern Lights.
During the new moon the sky is darker with not as much light from the moon which would be the ideal scenario for viewing the lights. Speaking to Live Science French said:”As soon as the sunspot starts to appear, we will enter the window of opportunity [for viewing auroras].”
“Earth is most affected by solar storms when the sunspot reaches the middle of the sun as seen from our planet. That’s exactly where it produced all of those large flares.”
“However, we could still be affected if another solar flare is as intense as they have been. But in theory, if you had a large enough eruption, even if it’s to the left of the sun’s center, we could still get the edge of that impact.”
It’s possible that solar flares will continue to occur from the sunspot in the following months as well and this could mean more chances to see the Northern Lights outside its usual place.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
