Update Saturday at 3:15PM
Want to check out your photos from the event? Check them out here.
After a spectacular once in a generation show of the Aurora Borealis Friday night, a new Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, CO, as another large group of charged solar particles approach Earth. This means another potentially good night to view these amazing colors in Colorado's sky. Additional bands of energy have been released by the Sun and will provide continued activity over the next few days. It is unlikely that views tonight will be as strong as last night due to the rarity of Friday night's event. However, the Aurora is still expected to be widespread, and potentially visible in parts of Colorado.
Clouds are more likely to disrupt your view tonight relative to last night. Optimal viewing conditions will generally lie in northern Colorado into Wyoming: Cheyenne, Steamboat Springs, and points north where clouds will be a non-issue and the Aurora will be higher on the horizon.
Original Story:
You will be able to see the Northern Lights in Colorado this weekend - including Friday night, if you know where and when to look. The most powerful solar geomagnetic storms in at least two decades are currently slamming into Earth at one million miles per hour. On Friday afternoon, space scientists in Boulder, Colorado confirmed the first of several rounds of solar energy had arrived. As of 5:30PM MDT on Friday, G5 solar storm conditions were observed, on a 5-point scale with G5 being highest. The National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a Geomagnetic Storm Warning as a result with widespread impacts expected.
The last G5 event occurred over 20 years ago in October of 2003. In addition to producing the Northern Lights, this severe solar storm is a big issue for our electronics and utility companies. Cell phone towers, GPS and weather satellites, and even our power grid will all be impacted - and our utility and related infrastructure companies are taking steps to ensure everything continues to function smoothly. Here's everything you need to know: the science, the aurora forecast, and the potential electronics issues and history.
SOLAR STORM SCIENCE
We get weather in space. The Sun has a magnetic field. Because of that, and because the Sun's outer shell (corona) is made of plasma...the Sun emits a constant stream of charged particles called the solar wind.
These particles move around a million miles per hour. At that speed, you could go from Colorado Springs to Denver in less than a second. But, because the Sun is 93 million miles away...it typically takes 3 to 3.5 days for these particles to reach us.
Sometimes, the sun's magnetic field gets tangled like a twisted and stretched rubber band. Eventually, the band snaps, releasing a lot of particles all at once. This is called a Coronal Mass Ejection.
The bigger the snap, the more particles get sent off. If the band snap happens to be facing Earth, the particles hit Earth's magnetic field, and atmosphere, and produce a solar storm. These storms are more common at certain points in the solar cycle, which lasts 11 years. We happen to be in an active period now.
You may have heard of sunspots before - small dots on the Sun that look dark (viewed from special telescopes). These are regions where the magnetic field has become twisted. Although they're called spots - they're massive. A sunspot currently facing Earth is 17 times the size of the entire planet. It's that sunspot that produced not one, or two, but now at least 6 CMEs in the last few days. At least two of those were sent directly toward Earth. The first was released on May 8th, and arrived Friday afternoon. It is producing the mega-solar storm we're experiencing. But, with another CME on the way, a long and unusually powerful period of solar impacts are likely.
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, occurs frequently in the Arctic Circle. When the charged particles from the Sun arrive on Earth, our magnetic field funnel the particles to the poles, creating an incredible light show as the particles hit gases in our upper atmosphere, which produces colorful light. Typically, the aurora isn't visible in Colorado because we're too far south. When a solar storm arrives, it disrupts Earth's magnetic field. This is measured with the Kp index.
- Kp 3 - Normal
- Kp 5 - Minor Storm
- Kp 7 - Moderate Storm
- Kp 9 - Major Storm
Indexes of 5 and above are considered a Solar Storm. The storm impacting us tonight, is a Kp9 - maxing out the scale. This is extremely rare.
VIEWING TIPS
- Go North. The Aurora is more visible the farther North you go. Weather will also be better farther north, though the latest trends suggest clearing over our southern counties for at least a time tonight.
- Get high, away from lights, and find a place with a clear and unobstructed view to the north. If you can get into the mountains, where we're not expecting clouds and rain (e.g. the northern mountains), that's a good option.
- Use your phone or a camera with a long exposure. If you can't see the lights with your eyes, your phone camera on "night mode" likely can.
- Let your eyes adjust. Typically it takes a few minutes to fully adjust to a dark sky.
The good news is: this is shaping up to be a historic-level event, so your odds of seeing something are good!
FORECAST
Generally speaking - the farther north you go, the better everything gets. Aurora conditions are more likely and will be higher in the sky, and clouds will be reduced. It's a great evening to be in Fort Collins or Steamboat Springs! But, even in Colorado Springs, with a Kp 9 you might see it. But again, dark locations with a clear view to the north will do best - so Peyton and the darker areas on the U.S. 24 East corridor will have the best chances. Clouds are likely in the mountains and southern tier.
THE DOWNSIDE
Because these charged particles are similar to the ones used by our power grids, radio antennas, cell phone towers, and GPS and communications satellites, they're affecting those systems. Our utility companies, and other critical infrastructure operators are working hard to protect vulnerable systems right now. Nonetheless, with a storm of this magnitude - we may see impacts. Historically, G5 storms have caused power outages and radio blackouts. That said, many people are working very hard, to ensure continued operation of our critical infrastructure.
With a G5 storm, there is only so much that can be done. While we are enjoying the light show - our satellites are being impacted in a way that many of them have never been. Electrical arcing is possible on some of them, and this could lead to issues with our GPS system and telecommunications this weekend. The most famous solar storm of all time occurred in 1859 - it's known as the Carrington event. This was during the heyday of the telegraph system, and it was so powerful that it induced currents in the wires, shocking operators.
We've got another CME on the way again tomorrow - and the sunspot producing these flares has grown in the last day and remains pointed at Earth. Time will tell if we get further action, but tonight's event will be historic in itself.
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