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Our planet has an invisible forcefield, the magnetosphere, which protects us from dangerous charged particles from the sun. The Northern Lights have fascinated people on Earth for centuries, but the science behind them has not always been understood. In the north the display is known as the aurora borealis, and in the south it is called the aurora australis. The aurora can be seen near the poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple. There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky - the aurora, or Northern Lights. When a solar storm heads our way, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth's atmosphere.
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It is more often seen in winter when the nights are cold, long and dark. The aurora appears when atoms in the Earth's high-altitude atmosphere collide with energetic charged particles from the sun, creating breathtaking colors of green with a hint of pink, red and violet. Sunspots are areas on the sun's surface where powerful magnetic fields, created by the flow of electrical charges, become tangled and eventually release a huge explosion of energy that results in a solar flare.Ĭannibal coronal mass ejections happen when fast-moving solar eruptions overtake earlier eruptions in the same region of space, forming a huge wavefront that triggers a powerful geomagnetic storm.Ī solar or geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere – the area around Earth controlled by the planet's magnetic field – caused by CMEs. The latest potential sighting has been made possible because of the sunspot AR2957, which has been shooting out flares of electrically charged particles from the sun's plasma soup since Monday (March 28). However, these are remote possibilities from a G3 storm, but could increase in risk if the storm is upgraded.Īlso known as aurora borealis, the Northern Lights are predominantly seen in high-latitude regions, so any glimpse further south are a rare treat. It may also cause drag on low Earth orbit satellites that could interfere with their ability to communicate with Earth, and may cause issues with GPS navigation. SWPC says the storm of Thursday could lead to some irregularities in power system voltages. These storms are normally harmless, although they can cause some disruption by affecting electronics and satellites.Ī recent example was the loss of 40 SpaceX Starlink satellites, climbing to their desired orbit, due to a geomagnetic storm earlier this year.