If you live at a high latitude, be alert for a good display of auroras, or northern lights, beginning late tonight (April 1, 2014) and into tomorrow night. Spaceweather.com reports:
The first of three or more CMEs en route to Earth are expected to arrive late in the day on April 1. None of the incoming clouds is squarely Earth-directed. The series of glancing blows, however, will rattle Earth’s magnetic field and possibly spark auroras. NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 2.
Video shows the X-flare that took place on Saturday, March 29. One of the incoming CMEs is from this flare.
What is a CME? It’s a coronal mass ejection.
Will I see the northern lights tonight?
Bottom line: Aurora alert for April 1 and 2, 2014. Activity on the sun has created conditions possibly ripe for good displays of the aurora borealis or northern lights.
Deborah Byrd
View Articles
About the Author:
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.