Expert Says Auroras From Recent Solar Storms Are Unlike Anything Ever Seen: ‘Not an Everyday Event’
Lately, the Northern Lights have been painting the sky with all shades of green and blue, thanks to the geomagnetic storm and solar flares. The sun's been in an active state, producing consecutive auroras in the aftermath. Aurora borealis "are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate display of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather," as per NASA. On Tuesday, a huge crowd flocked to a popular overlook at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus to witness the stunning view. Fatin Pasha was among the sky gazers who told KUAC what he witnessed that night. He moved to Fairbanks all the way from Missouri, and the lights were one of the reasons behind his relocation.
At first, the crowd, including Pasha, saw a "reddish" blush in the sky. “It’s just a tad reddish," he told the outlet. “Not a whole lot, yet. I've seen some beautiful pictures, though. So, I'm hanging around in this negative weather, hoping to catch a glimpse," Pasha added. The reddish hue eventually transitioned into a scarlet color, along with hints of green. This phenomenon was caused by back-to-back X-flares from the sun that started on Monday, November 10. An enormous plasma cloud called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, was produced in this event, which scientists have named “cannibal” ejection.
This consecutive emission of three flares has been called an unusual event by scientists. Mark Conde, a space physicist at UAF who has studied the auroras for decades, called it one of the most significant solar events he's seen in his career. The speed of the third CME in the series was about 870 miles per second, the largest he'd ever seen. He also revealed that though the aurora forecasts were for Tuesday and Wednesday, the lights will be visible in the upcoming days. “We might get another one or two of these before the solar cycle calms down,” he told the outlet. Conde revealed that there will be an 11-year-long waiting period before such a phenomenon reoccurs. "So the event we're experiencing right now is certainly not an everyday event by any stretch of the imagination," he added.
The X-class flares are powerful yet destructive, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Oftentimes, they can destroy satellite communications, GPS systems, and power grids, and cause blackouts. In February 2022, a geomagnetic storm caused major disruption and damage to the satellites. Even though the intensity of the storm was much less than that of the recent storm, it knocked out about 40 SpaceX satellites.
“They were unlucky,” Conde remarked about the satellites. “They put them in this low altitude orbit first. And they happened to experience a storm right when the satellites were most vulnerable," he added. In a recent announcement, the agency confirmed that the storm had shifted from G3 to G4 or "severe" condition. As predicted, the storm reached the "severe" state on Wednesday.
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