In contrast to the movie title, DO look up, at least on Wednesday. That is when the aurora borealis could be visible over New York City, NASA said this week.
In a chain reaction that began Sunday, a particularly intense coronal mass ejection (CME) has sent ions, which carry a charge, streaming toward Earth from the sun, on a collision course with our own magnetosphere. When the two sets of charged particles smash into each other, they could birth a fierce geomagnetic storm.
A CME is basically a massive explosion on the sun’s surface that is sparked when its powerful magnetic fields get stretched too thin and snap apart, emitting the stream of charged particles. These collide with not just the magnetosphere but also gases in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, all of which sends brilliant dancing lights across the sky.
The particles are predicted to arrive on Wednesday night, which could render the aurora borealis visible over the northern and upper Midwestern U.S., all the way to Idaho.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a storm watch for a level G-2 tempest, Space.com noted.
“A G2 Watch is in effect for 24 Jul due to the likely arrival of a halo CME that erupted on 21 Jul,” is all NASA said. But that’s not all that skywatchers need to hear.
“Direct Hit: NASA & NOAA model predictions show the solar storm will impact Earth July 24,” tweeted space weather physicist Tamitha Skov. “The window for arrival starts early July 24. Likely the storm will be fashionably late, due to slow solar wind “traffic” & an additional glancing storm blow ahead of it.”
“The aurora may become visible over some northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho,” NOAA said, promising to keep the website updated with more precise predictions as the time grew closer.
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