Material from the Sun hitting Earth’s atmosphere could create a clear Northern Lights display for the upper Midwest and northern US early this week.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Monday through Wednesday after a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was observed sending plasma toward Earth.
Small to moderate geomagnetic storms are forecast, according to the SWPC. Storm monitoring helps inform telecommunications, power and space industry companies about potential impacts from space weather. However, the public will not be affected.
The solar wind causes reactions in the Earth’s atmosphere that create the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.
An intense space weather event could cause the Aurora lights to appear further away from the Earth’s poles, which could happen this week.
How far from the pole the lamp reaches can be determined by the predictive index “Kp”, which is on a scale of 1-9 that measures the intensity of the geomagnetic storm.
According to SWPC’s Aurora dashboard, Kp 6 is forecast for Monday night, offering the best chance to see the Northern Lights across the northern US However, a nor’easter moving into the Northeast late Monday obscures views for those in the Northeast and parts of the Great Lakes region .
Material from the Sun hitting Earth’s atmosphere can create a clear Northern Lights display for the upper Midwest and northern US Star Tribune via Getty Images
There are still more chances until Wednesday night to catch a glimpse of the dancing lights – if the clouds clear.
On Tuesday, the aurora will once again be visible in the northern US However, clouds will once again be thick across much of the viewing area.
If there’s a break in the clouds, cities including Minneapolis and Milwaukee can see the Northern Lights overhead.
Weather map showing Aurora and cloud views across the northern US
Lights will also be visible low on the horizon for Boise, Lincoln and Indianapolis – again, if the clouds cooperate.
CMEs take between one and three days to reach the Earth’s atmosphere.
Over the past week, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded 19 CMEs streaming from the Sun.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
