THE Northern Lights may be shifting locations again soon as the sun continues to have consistent active solar storms.
The beautiful color-filled sky could make a return to backyards around June 6-9.
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 occurred since September 2017 and scientists believe this is a sign there will be more solar flares.
Ryan French, a solar physicist at the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, announced the major flare on X, formerly Twitter.
“Huge flare!” French said on X.
“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.”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The solar flares are caused by a massive sunspot that is 15 times wider than Earth.
Sunspots are caused by intense magnetic activity on the sun and solar flares are caused by the sudden release of energy stored in the sun’s magnetic fields.
This creates a ‘solar storm’ that can reach Earth if the sunspot is facing Earth.
French also recently discussed how the sunspot would be visible from Earth again on June 6.
The sunspot will be visible during a new moon, which is what happened during the last solar storm and is how we could see the shift in the Northern Lights so clearly.
The new moon makes the sky darker because there is not as much light from the moon.
ANOTHER PERFECT ALIGNMENT
It has been predicted that this may be the perfect scenario to see the Northern Lights again.
“It will align nicely,” French told Live Science on Tuesday.
“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,” French said.
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.”
There is the possibility that solar flares will continue to occur from the sunspot in the following months as well.
This means there might be several more chances to spot the Northern Lights outside its usual place.
WHERE WILL IT BE VISIBLE?
According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, the aurora will be visible in some areas of the US, Europe, and Canada.
In Canada, this includes Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin, Iqaluit, Juneau, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Sept-Iles, Vancouver, Great Falls, Pierre, Madison, Lansing, Ottawa, Portland, and St. Johns.
The Northern Lights may be visible in the very northern parts of the US west of Michigan – this includes Washington, Michigan, Oregon, Montana, and North Dakota.
In Europe, they could be visible in Norway, Sweden, Trondheim, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki.
Auroras – how do they work?
Here’s the official explanation from Nasa…
- The dancing lights of the auroras provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun
- Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs
- After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light
- The result: the Northern and Southern lights.
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.
