Historic solar storm could generate more northern lights

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that “elevated geomagnetic conditions” will persist during Sunday (05/12/2024) and another series of coronal mass ejections from the Sun are expected, so that more northern lights could be seen.

“It is possible that additional auroras could be sighted (weather permitting) this afternoon through tomorrow (Sunday)!”, and a level G4 and G5 geomagnetic storm alert was issued for Sunday, NOAA said on social media social.

NOAA, the scientific agency in charge of monitoring the conditions of the atmosphere and oceans, explained that a coronal mass ejection from the Sun (CME) is an eruption of solar material that, when it reaches Earth, can produce a geomagnetic storm. , while a G5 alert is the maximum on a G1-G5 scale.

It is likely that the aurora could be visible that Sunday in much of the northern half of the country and perhaps as far south, from Alabama to northern California, according to the agency.

“Geomagnetic storms can affect infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on the Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations,” NOAA detailed.

However, the same phenomenon that causes these interruptions is also responsible for allowing the northern lights to be glimpsed in places where they are not normally seen.

“Several CMEs are expected to merge and reach Earth on Sunday,” he noted.

For its part, China’s National Space Weather Center issued a “red alert” on Saturday morning warning that the storm is expected to continue throughout the weekend as it will affect communications and navigation in most parts of the country. from the country.