Forceful solar flares from the sun this week may intensify the northern lights displays over the coming weekend.
Powerful solar storms erupted solar material, first on Monday (Sept. 8), then again on Wednesday (Sept. 10). During Wednesday's solar flare, the sun unleashed a major X1.6-class flare directly at Earth.
The most intense storm so far has been from Friday night(12th) into Saturday morning,(13th) William Murtagh, program coordinator for the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, said in a teleconference with reporters last week.
It is the solar particles from the earlier solar flare this Monday that amplified auroras on Thursday night.
The Monday flare is ranked as a long-duration class M4.6 and might pump up northern lights displays for skywatchers Murtagh said.
Powerful solar storms erupted solar material, first on Monday (Sept. 8), then again on Wednesday (Sept. 10). During Wednesday's solar flare, the sun unleashed a major X1.6-class flare directly at Earth.
The most intense storm so far has been from Friday night(12th) into Saturday morning,(13th) William Murtagh, program coordinator for the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, said in a teleconference with reporters last week.
It is the solar particles from the earlier solar flare this Monday that amplified auroras on Thursday night.
The Monday flare is ranked as a long-duration class M4.6 and might pump up northern lights displays for skywatchers Murtagh said.
Rao, Joe. "Back-to-Back Sun Storms May Supercharge Earth's Northern Lights."
Space.com. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Space.com. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
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