CME is on its way -- watch for auroras!

[CalliArcale]

According to SpaceWeather.com, NOAA is reporting a 15-20% chance of strong geomagnetic storms in the next 24 hours. Watch for auroras, particularily if you live at higher latitudes, and especially after local midnight.<br /><br />The sun is quite spotted right now, by the way -- several significant sunspot groups are on the near side (including one large group, 693, bigger than Jupiter, and technically visible to the naked eye, though be careful trying to see it), and there's at least one big one on the farside.<br /><br />For a nearly-live view of the northern auroral oval, visit SPACE.com Cam: Aurora. This is an image made from the most recent pass over the north pole by the POES satellite. Blue areas have no aurora (those merely show where data was collected). Look for yellows and reds over your area, or an equivalent latitude. The southern auroral oval will roughly mirror the northern, as they are generated together. Not much activity is showing as of right this very moment, but the CME has not yet impacted the Earth's magnetosphere. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Another CME was just propelled into space by an M5-class explosion, this one from sunspot group 696. It is expected to hit Earth's magnetosphere late Friday or early Saturday. Meanwhile, wind from a coronal hole is expected to reach Earth Sunday. So if you've got clear skies, keep watching! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[arobie]

Thank you and very cool, even though I won't be able to see it. I live too close to the equator. <br /><br />I will be star gazing though. With this beautiful weather right now, I definitely couldn't miss this opportunity.<br /><br />Anyone live far north enough to be able to witness this??