Aurora Alert

[Mowich]

The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view as the Sun let loose with its biggest solar flare of the year so far. It’s not a real big one — a mid-level flare classified as an M6.5 – but an associated coronal mass ejection is heading towards Earth and could spur some nice auroae by this weekend. Spaceweather.com predicts the expanding cloud (see animation below) will probably deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field late on April 12th or more likely April 13th. The NOAA Space Prediction Center forecasts this event to cause moderate (G2) Geomagnetic Storm activity, and predicts geomagnetic activity to start in the mid to latter part (UTC) of April 13. They add that the source region is still potent and well-positioned for more geoeffective activity in the next few days.


Weekend Aurora Alert: The Sun Lets Loose an Earth-Directed CME

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[L Gilbert]

Nuts. Unless the skies clear up a bit around here, we'll miss the light show.

 

[Mowich]

Nuts. Unless the skies clear up a bit around here, we'll miss the light show.

I'll be praying for clear skies too, LG. Haven't see a good aurora since I worked up in Alaska.

 

[L Gilbert]

I'll be praying for clear skies too, LG. Haven't see a good aurora since I worked up in Alaska.

Yeah, me either. Well, it wasn't AK, but it was north. The ones we get down here aren't very active and we only get faded purple with a little faded yellow and green but it's still kinda cool.

 

[karrie]

Oh I'll have to be on the lookout.

And I'll have to let my cousins' kids know to watch for an extra spectacular show from their kokum.

 

[#juan]

I hope Chris Hadfield has enough protection. I know NASA used to worry about solar flares.

 

[karrie]

Yeah, me either. Well, it wasn't AK, but it was north. The ones we get down here aren't very active and we only get faded purple with a little faded yellow and green but it's still kinda cool.

When we lived in High Level, and even when we lived a bit further south in Fort St John, we'd get the most spectacular shows, sitting out in the hot tub we could enjoy them for hours.

 

[L Gilbert]

When we lived in High Level, and even when we lived a bit further south in Fort St John, we'd get the most spectacular shows, sitting out in the hot tub we could enjoy them for hours.

For sure. I saw them from a variety of places and they were always really cool to watch.

 

[petros]

Nuts. Unless the skies clear up a bit around here, we'll miss the light show.

Same here. A full five days of clouds and light rain/snow.

I had front row seats back in the 90s when I worked at Lupin Lake just shy of the Arctic Circle where you can see them day or night in winter.

Mind blowing.

I've made those memories my brain's screensaver.

When we lived in High Level, and even when we lived a bit further south in Fort St John, we'd get the most spectacular shows, sitting out in the hot tub we could enjoy them for hours.

Way the hell up there in the territories you can read by the light of them and the colours are wild.

I swear you can hear them.

 

[L Gilbert]

Oh, yeah. Been so long I forgot about the sounds, can't hear them down here.

 

[karrie]

Way the hell up there in the territories you can read by the light of them and the colours are wild.

I swear you can hear them.

Hubby swears he's heard them, up north when it's really cold out.

 

[#juan]

Hubby swears he's heard them, up north when it's really cold out.

Apparently you can hear them:

You can see — and hear —northern lights - Technology & science - Space - Space.com | NBC News