aurora Archives - The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young

November 15, 2021

Categories

Historical Sun

The Carrington Flare

On September 1st, 1859, (161 years ago today) a 33-year-old astronomer called Richard Carrington, working at an observatory in Surrey, England, went about his daily duties of sketching the peculiar dark spots that he had been witnessing transiting the Sun.

November 4, 2021

Categories

Aurora Alert! CME Impacting Earth Arriving November 4, 2021

[Alex on EARTHSKY.ORG] Aurora alert in effect for the next few days: the sun sent out a halo coronal mass ejection on November 2, 2021, due to arrive at Earth on November 4.

October 30, 2021

Categories

Aurora

Solar Storm and Aurora Starting Tonight 10.30.2021

[Alex on EARTHSKY.ORG] A solar storm after an eruption on the sun is carrying plasma toward Earth, which should produce northern and southern lights this weekend.

September 1, 2021

Categories

Aurora

Aurora Alert! Pair of CMEs to Jolt Earth’s Magnetic Field

[Alex on EARTHSKY.ORG] Aurora alert! A pair of coronal mass ejections will reach Earth September 1-2, 2021. Though not dangerous to satellites or the grid, they might cause auroras.

March 19, 2021

Categories

Solstice & Equinox

March Equinox 2021 & a Touch of Aurora

WHOOO HOO! It’s a change of season! The next Equinox occurs on March 20, 2021, at 9:36 UT (5:36 am ET). It’s the Vernal (Spring) equinox for the Northern Hemisphere! It’s the Autumnal (Fall) equinox for the Southern Hemisphere! But […]

December 9, 2014

Categories

Aurora

Be an Aurora Hunter!

Do you want to be an Aurora Hunter but have no idea how to get started? (LINKS UPDATED BELOW) Now you can be one through Aurorasaurus – be part of a grand experiment “Reporting Auroras from the Ground Up.” Join […]

June 9, 2014

Categories

Aurora

Geomagnetic Storm and Aurora from Brush with CME

High latitude observers treated with spectacular aurora June 8 and June 9th. The CME that glanced Earth’s magnetosphere on June 7 started a minor geomagnetic disturbance just after the impact that grew into a G1 then G2 level geomagnetic storm […]

February 20, 2014

Categories

Space Weather

Starting the Day with a Flare, Protons and a Geomagnetic Storm

Geomagnetic storms continue while an eruption on the west limb of the sun brings a flare, protons and possibly another CME our way. Solar Eruption The sun erupted with an M3 X-ray flare (NOAA Scale R1-Minor radio blackout) peaked in […]

February 19, 2014

Categories

Geomagnetic Storm and Aurora from Valentine’s Weekend CME

A CME from February 16, 2014 has impacted Earth. The CME’s magnetic structure was such that it stirred things up in the magnetosphere. A significant interplanetary shock detected by ACE at L1 at 3:10 UT, February 19, 2014. The […]

February 14, 2014

Categories

Waiting for an Aurora Valentine

3 CMEs are headed for Earth with the first impact expected late on Feb. 14, 2014 for some Valentine’s day and weekend aurora! Space weather forecasters are waiting to see what is in store for this weekend. Three separate CMEs […]