Last weekend, a strong astronomic event took place, leading to one of the most incredible phenomena the United States have ever witnessed. The sun produced one of the strongest solar storms which ever occurred, which led to northern lights being visible much further south than they usually do.
Northern lights were visible in the United States on Wednesday
During the solar storm, the sun released a massive cloud full of hot plasma. This is also known as coronal mass ejection (CME). The cloud traveled at over 200 miles per second and, on Wednesday night, it reached Earth. These ejections are not dangerous for humans and, instead, it produced a breathtaking light show on the night sky.
The solar storm cloud disrupted the geomagnetic fields of our planet, causing some sort of storm. This storm allowed the northern lights to be visible even far south. Therefore, even the United States could enjoy such a show, as the aurora was visible even in Illinois or Ohio.
In case you haven’t seen the northern lights dancing over the US, do not despair. Astronomers claim another massive solar storm is approaching. On September 6th, they detected another flare, which is similar to a CME. This flare, together with another smaller one, are already getting close to Earth.
Another aurora display should come again this weekend
This time, the show might be even more impressive, as scientists have noticed a change. This flare is so strong that it has the potential to disturb radio communications, and to affect the frequency of several navigation systems. Even so, they are still not dangerous for the population.
Scientists expect northern lights to be visible again way more in the south than they usually do. They estimated some other areas which should be able to see them, such as northern New England or upstate New York.
Now, the only thing needed is for the weather to allow the viewing. Unfortunately, meteorologists predicted thick clouds in the area, as well as rain. Even so, if you want to make sure you catch at least a small glimpse of the aurora, go for a drive away from the city lights and enjoy the show.
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