The Aurora borealis put on an impressive showing in portions of the U.S. and Canada Tuesday night, and there’s potential for it to strike again Wednesday.
Followers from as far north as Nova Scotia to as far south as Florida sent me photos Tuesday night!
>> Your photos of the Northern Lights
You can do so too by submitting your photos through wral.com/reportit.
What’s causing the aurora to be visible this far south?
As a refresher to Tuesday’s article, let’s talk about Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). These ejections – or solar flares – head toward Earth.
In this case, there are a series of them – and they are tough to predict, according to Tony Rice. Once they interact with Earth’s upper atmosphere, the aurora can be seen.
The stronger the geomagnetic storm (interaction between CME and Earth), the farther south the aurora can glow.
Will we see it again Wednesday night?
There is a good chance of the aurora being seen again, but there is a caveat.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and NASA say an even stronger CME is heading toward Earth, but it’s expected to make impact around midday.
So, we’ll need the severity of the geomagnetic storm to maintain until after sunset. If that happens, it’s game on!
You’ll need a clear view of the northern sky with minimal-to-no light pollution. Take your smart phone’s camera, and put it on night mode with exposure set to 10s.
Should the storm maintain severity, the Aurora would be seen again in North Carolina with visibility potentially extended south toward the U.S.’ Gulf Coast.
Why are we seeing auroras more often?
Science and technology are both the cause.
The sun is in a “maximum” in its cycle, where sun spots are more active and more flares are being ejected. By that logic, alone, you have more chances to see the Aurora.
The Aurora is also more commonly seen closer to an Equinox rather than closer to a Solstice.
The technology aspect comes down to our smart phones. The long exposure settings that we now have access to allow us to photograph these more often than recent years.
So again, if you do get good photos – we want to see them and share them!
Send those through wral.com/reportit.
