Published on March 8th, 2012 | by James Johnson
0Solar Storm Could Create Auroras Over Northern U.S.
On March 8 the most powerful solar storm to hit the United States in five years will possibly light up the Northern US sky with what scientists believe will be aurora’s produced by the solar event.
The solar storm is the result of two enormous X-class flares that were sent towards Earth from the sun on March 6. Those blasts occur when the sun’s surface flings waves of charged particles into space, bursts known as coronal mass ejections.
While solar flares can disrupt satellite and other electronics equipment it can also interact with Earth’s magnetic field and create amazing displays known as the northern lights.
While the storm arrived with weakened force compared to expectations it’s expected to last for up to 24 hours before it completely passes and scientists say the effects could intensify furhter.
According to Wired:
“If the storm reaches predicted intensities, it could cause northern lights as far south as geomagnetic latitude 50 (this is not identical to geographic latitude). This includes most of the northeastern U.S., the upper Great Plains region, and Washington state. You can check your geomagnetic latitude at the SWPC website.”
If you want to see the northern lights scientists recommend getting to an area with no light pollution.