Aurora

The Sun is currently in a very active state. There are an increased number of sun spots, as observed with telescopes (and much more sophisticated instruments and satellites by NASA), that are putting off explosions of particles. Whereas these spots are somewhat cooler than the rest of the sun, they are more subject to fluctuations in the magnetic field of the sun, resulting in the explosions. These are called coronal mass ejections (CME). The sun rotates as all bodies in our solar system do. In this way, some of these hot spots turn into our firing zone. If a CME happens at just the right time, these charged particles are shot at the Earth, to arrive a couple days later. Our magnetic field protects the Earth, directing these particles towards the poles. The particles interact with our upper atmosphere, exciting the gasses into a plasma state, that glows. We call this the Aurora Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere (Aurora Australis in the Southern Hemisphere), and it is a common sky feature for those living in the far Northern and Southern latitudes.  However, if a storm is particularly energetic, the sheer mass of the particles in the atmosphere can cause the aurora to be observed much farther from the poles.

On Friday 5/10/2024 a very powerful storm reached the Earth. There are many apps out in the internet world to track and be alerted about impending auroral activity. Just because the conditions are favorable does not mean there will be observed aurora. The dancing storms are fickle! However, on Friday evening the Kp-index hit a 9!! That is insane! Most storms I have seen any sky activity from are in the 6 to 7 range. There are other parameters that help to determine if aurora is go/no-go. On Friday, all indicators were in the GO range. 

   

And how BEAUTIFUL it turned out!!

To the naked eye, I could only see what looked like increased light pillars. However, a camera set to night mode captures the colors. Fortunately for me, I had just purchased a brand new cell phone that has night mode capabilities. My previous cell camera did not have this feature. There was a previous strong solar storm on March 23, 2023, which Rich and I were at home for and there was a clear sky (not an often line-up for us) where we saw the white (to our eyes) plasma dance around the sky, pulsating high into the zenith of the sky arch. We captured a couple pictures, but nothing spectacular. This time we both had cameras to capture images for memory.

Here is a link to a very nice article that fully explains what an aurora is. The various colors are the different gasses that are excited by the charged solar particles. Green is usually Oxygen. Purple, blue and pink are Nitrogen. This is happening very high in the atmosphere, some 80 miles or so. 

I have had a front row observation to only one other extraordinary storm in my life. Based on historical data, and my memory of the event at the time, that must have been the storm of July 27, 2004. That was during my previous life, with my first husband, in Wisconsin. I remember the storm being so strong we laid out on the lawn on a blanket in our very rural and dark sky home. The white plasma plumes flashed actively and quickly and repeatedly across the sky all night long. 

There are some times I don't fully appreciate living as far North as I do now. It can be very cold in the winter, and the snow and ice annoying at times, but because of my location I have a greater chance than much of the continental US to see aurora when a strong storm occurs. For that, I don't mind where I live.