Space weather forecast. We can see the northern lights in Poland. Another chance on Saturday

The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) warned, on Wednesday, of the approaching plumes of plasma ejected by the sun from the Earth. This is another piece of information about the impending coronal mass ejection of the blue planet, which could cause a magnetic storm and auroras.

The sun has released huge amounts of plasma

The coronal mass ejection (CME for short) or plasma mentioned by IMGW is huge clouds of plasma ejected into space (a highly ionized substance similar to Gas) that our star fires during flares.

Matter concentrated in one CME has a mass of billions of tons, usually radiates up to several hundred kilometers/sec and is composed primarily of protons and electrons. If it reaches the ground, it affects our lives the weather Space causes magnetic storms (that is, rapid changes in the Earth’s magnetic field) and enables the formation of bright auroras. During strong magnetic storms, the aurora borealis can be seen from Poland.

Since Wednesday, they have been very vocal about them, because there are many indications that the flares on the Sun observed in recent days will lead to relatively strong magnetic storms. According to the IMWM report, the first flares were observed on Monday in the early afternoon, and the first coronal mass ejection (at 1300 km/s) was supposed to reach Earth at night from Wednesday to Thursday.

According to predictions, the CME may have caused a medium-sized magnetic storm (Class G2), which on the one hand means the amazing aurora borealis (somewhat visible even from northern Poland), and on the other hand the problems.

An expected magnetic storm can cause voltage surges and even transformer damage in power systems, especially in the high latitude region. Another no less exciting, but also the least harmful, manifestation of solar flares is auroras. As expected, the series of eruptions on March 28 and charged shock wave particles will cause ionization in the ionosphere, which will be visible in the form of bands of aurora borealis dancing in the sky, which can be observed from 55 degrees latitude. [blisko północnych krańców Polski – red.]

– IMGW warned on Wednesday.

“The biggest disappointment of the year” right now, but there’s still a chance

Plasma clouds rushing towards Earth are, of course, fun for observing the aurora borealis. However, the most recent physical eruptions have not been appreciated by observers. “Head in the stars,” astronomy promoter Karol Wójcicki said, “They caused the biggest disappointment of the year.” He added, however, that this might just be a precursor to a significantly larger mass ejection, and therefore, stronger auroras.

In fact, a dozen or so flares have already been observed, which means that dozens of CMEs are likely to hit Earth. Most likely, most of them have not yet arrived, which portends stronger magnetic storms (and aurora borealis) at night from Thursday to Friday and from Friday to Saturday. It is possible that the strongest are visible from the northern regions of Poland.

As Karol Wójcicki explains on Facebook, the flare observed on Wednesday resulted in a large coronal mass ejection, which should reach us on April 2. Most likely on Saturday we will have a chance to see the aurora.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange today was very disappointed. Fortunately, images from SOHO confirmed that yesterday’s X1.38 glow generated another powerful CME that should hit Earth on April 2. Then I will travel with a group of Twilight Hunters to Iceland for the last time. I feel like it will be a trip we will remember for a long time

– Wójcicki Books.

How do you observe the aurora borealis?

It is noteworthy that to observe the northern lights, you need a clear, dark sky without annoying elements (such as buildings) and light sources. The aurora borealis (in hemisphere) looks out over the northern horizon, looking for a spot as far north as possible. In the case of Poland, these may be the beaches of the Baltic Sea (relatively dark skies with a good view of the north).

The largest recorded magnetic storm occurred in September 1859. The coronal ejection of the solar mass reached Earth (only 18 hours later), causing massive changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. The aurora borealis are very bright, it was possible to observe not only at the poles, but even in the latitudes of Mexico and Hawaii.

The magnetic storm had a number of negative effects, one of which was a sudden increase in voltage Electrician on telegraph lines in America and Europe, which prevents communication and causes, inter alia, the illumination of paper in telegrams. Today it is believed that a phenomenon of similar power can cause a global catastrophe.

You can read more about space weather at Gazeta.pl