Best Chance to See Aurora for ages! |
Friday, 10 May 2024 |
This weekend (May 11–12, 2024) has the potential to be the best chance for us to view the Aurora for many years. This week a huge sunspot cluster has been very active and has generated multiple coronal mass ejections. All these ejected particles will start interacting with the Earth's magnetic field this weekend, leading to (potentially) the best chance to witness the Aurora for years. And the weather should be fine. And the mosquitoes are not out yet! And it should get dark at a reasonable hour!
A good source to watch is the ACE satellite. It sits 1.4M km sunward from Earth, measuring the solar wind speed. You can see the data here: ACE SWEPAM DATA. Keep and eye out for the red line showing a southward trend (allows coupling of the magnetic field) and the solar wind speed (yellow trace) increase from the usual 400km/s to well over double. |
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 May 2024 )
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