A supercharge of light is expected in the northern sky on Friday! Northern lights

 Northern Skies Will Be Colored By Intense Solar Storm On Friday! Light Is Expected To Be Supercharged. 

That's quite a rare event! Geomagnetic storms can produce stunning auroras, and the prospect of seeing them in Alabama is especially remarkable. These storms occur when there's a disturbance in Earth's magnetosphere, often caused by solar winds interacting with our magnetic field. It's like nature putting on a spectacular light show for us. People in the affected areas should definitely keep an eye out for those colorful displays in the night sky. 

In 2015, Frederick Sound, Alaska, was treated to a stunning show as the northern lights lit up the night sky.

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abcnews Northern lights

Chow & Bush covered the 2015 lights.

A remarkable celestial event is poised to grace the skies on Friday as a potent solar storm is expected to amplify the northern lights, possibly illuminating regions as far south as Alabama in the United States.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued an alert, forecasting severe geomagnetic storms and the likelihood of "spectacular displays of aurora" from Friday evening through the weekend, spurred by a series of solar flares and eruptions from the sun.

This alert marks the first severe geomagnetic storm watch since 2005, sparking both excitement and caution among scientists and observers. Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center, emphasized the rarity of the event, stating, "We have a rare event on our hands... We're a little concerned. We haven't seen this in a long time."
Preparations are underway to mitigate potential disruptions caused by the storm's impact on communications, power grids, and satellites. Dahl noted that satellite and grid operators have been alerted to brace for possible effects.

While the precise timing of the storm's arrival remains uncertain, Dahl pointed out the challenges of predicting events originating 93 million miles away. Assistance comes from NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer, stationed approximately 1 million miles from Earth, providing crucial data to refine forecasts and understand the solar wind's behavior.
The mesmerizing phenomenon of the northern lights, fueled by charged particles from solar storms, promises to pa
int the night sky with vibrant hues. These captivating displays occur when energetic particles collide with Earth's magnetic field and interact with the upper atmosphere's atoms and molecules.

Typically confined to high latitudes, the northern lights' reach may extend farther south during periods of heightened solar activity, offering a rare spectacle to observers in regions unaccustomed to such displays.

As anticipation builds for this extraordinary event, scientists and enthusiasts alike await with bated breath, prepared to witness nature's dazzling performance while remaining vigilant for any potential disruptions caused by the solar storm's energetic outburst.

Solar storm: Northern lights coming. Prep for disruptions.

During a coronal mass ejection, the sun ejects massive amounts of material, some heading towards Earth. Our magnetic field deflects most particles, but some sneak in at the poles, sparking the mesmerizing aurora borealis.

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center's forecast, auroras on Friday night might be visible "as far south as Alabama and Northern California."

For real-time updates on auroras, the agency offers an aurora dashboard. For optimal viewing, head to dark, remote areas away from city lights.

Dahl mentioned that smartphones might capture aurora imagery in southern locations where the naked eye can't detect anything unusual.

The Space Weather Prediction Center reported multiple "moderate to strong" solar flares since Wednesday, each releasing clouds of plasma and charged particles, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), into space. At least five of these flares and associated CMEs seem to be Earth-directed.

The center warned of possible geomagnetic storm conditions persisting into the weekend due to potential additional solar eruptions.

When Earth-directed, geomagnetic storms and solar radiation can induce currents in high-voltage transmission lines and pose risks to power grid transformers.

Historically, severe geomagnetic storms have caused significant disruptions, such as the 1989 event in Montreal, Canada, where around 6 million people lost power for nine hours. In 2002, a coronal mass ejection disabled 38 commercial satellites.

Solar activity follows an 11-year cycle, with the current cycle anticipated to peak in July 2025, according to forecasts by NOAA and NASA.