Why the Northern Lights have become more common – Firstpost

Another in a series of unusually strong solar storms hitting Earth, produced stunning skies full of pink, purple, green and blue farther south than usual, including parts of Germany, the UK, New England and New York.

“Once again, it was quite a comprehensive display,” said Shawn Dahl, a space weather forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. He said the center has received reports of aurora sightings as far south as New Mexico. “It was a great year.”

There were no immediate reports of power or communication disruptions.

NOAA issued a severe geomagnetic storm warning on Wednesday after detecting a solar outburst earlier in the week. Such a storm increases the risk of aurora borealis – also called aurora borealis – and can temporarily disrupt power and radio signals.

NOAA’s Friday forecast shows activity still higher than usual, but the chances of another nightly display are slim further south into Canada and the northern Plains states.

The sun sends more than just heat and light to Earth – it sends energy and charged particles called the solar wind. But sometimes this solar wind turns into a storm. The Sun’s outer atmosphere sometimes releases huge bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections. According to NOAA, they cause solar storms, also known as geomagnetic storms.

The Earth’s magnetic field protects us from much of it, but particles can travel along magnetic field lines along the north and south poles and into the Earth’s atmosphere.

When particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, they can produce light – blue and purple from nitrogen, and green and red from oxygen.

Dahl said this storm created a particularly vivid image when it hit because the direction of the storm’s magnetism aligned with Earth’s. “We stayed in good contact,” he said.

Astronomers say the sun’s activity waxes and wanes in a cycle that lasts about 11 years. The Sun appears to be near the peak of this cycle, called solar maximum.

In May, the Sun experienced its largest solar flare in almost twenty years. This came days after strong solar storms hit Earth and triggered aurora borealis in unusual locations across the Northern Hemisphere.

There will probably be more. Dahl said we remain “in the grip” of the solar maximum and it will likely only begin to fade away in early 2026.

“More of the experience we had last night is ahead of us,” he said.

NOAA advises those who want to see the aurora borealis to get away from city lights.

The best viewing time is usually an hour or two before or after midnight, and the agency says the best opportunities are around the spring and fall equinoxes because of the way the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.