A solar outburst over the weekend could lead on to some stellar skywatching in the approaching days.
On Sunday (May 7) at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT), the sun emitted a long-duration M1.5-class solar flare — a medium-intensity event — directly at Earth. The high levels of radiation related to this event have already caused minor shortwave radio blackouts on Earth, in response to Spaceweather.com (opens in recent tab).
The solar flare was also related to a coronal mass ejection (CME), an eruption of solar plasma that is now barreling toward our planet. The CME is predicted to hit Earth early Wednesday morning (May 10), potentially sparking moderate to strong geomagnetic activity when it does so, Spaceweather.com wrote.
Related: Wild solar weather is causing satellites to plummet from orbit. It’s only going to worsen.
That activity may include supercharged aurora displays. For instance, moderate geomagnetic storms could make auroras visible as far south as Latest York or Idaho, and robust ones can bring them into view for folk all the way in which down in Illinois or Oregon.
Do note, nonetheless, that space weather, like Earth weather, is a fickle thing, and forecasts can change at any moment.
Solar flares are vibrant bursts of electromagnetic radiation emitted from sunspots, while CMEs are expulsions of plasma and magnetized particles from the sun that travel more slowly through space. Solar flares that hit Earth may cause communications blackouts, whereas CMEs are related to the aurora. Though they do not necessarily occur concurrently, the brightest solar flares do often coincide with CMEs.
As we move toward solar maximum, or the period of best solar activity, in the following yr or two, we will expect more frequent and greater solar storms. Because of this, we must always see some spectacular auroral displays, too.
Indeed, the incoming solar storm is the most recent in a series of space weather events to buffet the Earth. On Sunday, for instance, an analogous solar weather event boosted auroral displays for skywatchers across the planet.
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