Despite all the negative press the trough gets, I enjoyed the low phase and attained my goal of one “hero shot” per year ( 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). The more sunspots, the more solar flare energy is being released into space (which means more aurora activity!).įor 400 years, from the time of Galileo until now, we have been keeping track of the number of these sunspots and, as the trends show in these two graphs, this cycle is predictable.Ī: We are just starting to come out of a 4-year trough of Solar Cycle 24. This is known as the solar cycle and is measured by the number of sunspots visible on the sun. Every eleven years or so it beats, and it beats hard. If that same sunspot (or coronal hole) is still active it will have rotated around with the sun and will be, once again, in geoeffective position (pointing toward earth).and hosing us with an enhanced flow of aurora-generating solar wind. Therefore, sunspots, like those seen on this solar image to the left, are like a giant revolving firehose emitting energy into space for sometimes months at a time.Īfter an active aurora night, mark that date on a calendar and in 27-28 days pay close attention to the sky. On average, the sun revolves on its axis once every 27-28 days as seen from earth. This is a very helpful tool for predicting auroras. This means there will be an especially high concentration of charged electrons in the atmosphere tonight.Northern Lights Forecast 27-Day Aurora Forecast A C ME occurs when an area of the sun’s surface with a powerful magnetic field, called a sunspot, explodes and releases a burst of radiation and solar material. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identified two coronal mass ejections on Monday, which is why t he aurora is expected to be visible so far south tonight. The lights tend to be most visible in the arctic and antarctic regions because the electrons are deflected by the earth's magnetic field and are generally forced toward the poles, where the magnetic field is weakest, said Marian Mateling, a researcher in the University of Wisconsin's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Once the particles reach Earth's atmosphere, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen particles which causes a release of energy in the form of light.
The lights are caused by electrically charged particles from the sun traveling to Earth via solar winds.
Those in the suburbs and rural areas will have an easier time seeing the lights, as the brightness of urban areas makes auroras and other heavenly lights harder to spot. The initial storms will most likely have passed by late evening, but there's a chance for an additional round of showers and severe thunderstorms through the overnight hours. Meteorologists are expecting showers with periods of heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorms to roll in this evening by 7 or 8 p.m. But even the more southerly parts of metro Philly might be able to see them on the horizon, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks' aurora forecast.īut tonight's weather could make the lights hard to see. The lights – which are most often green, but can also be blue, violet, or red – could be visible overhead in northern parts of the region.
Two massive explosions on the surface of the sun could allow some residents in the Philadelphia region to catch a glimpse of the northern lights tonight through early tomorrow morning.
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