Intro:
A geomagnetic storm on Oct. 10 made Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, visible to residents across the United States, and other places around the world. Normally only visible in the Arctic region of the world, the phenomenon has not occurred since April of 2023.
If you took a look outside last night, there is a good chance you saw the Northern Lights, which are normally only visible in the Arctic region of the world. The pink and green hues could be seen all across the nation due to a geomagnetic storm, the first one since April of 2023.
Scientific happenings/why it happened:
The geomagnetic storm occurred after a coronal mass ejection, a burst of plasma from the sun’s surface. Coronal mass ejections occur when the sun is at its solar maximum, a term for when the sun’s magnetic field is at its peak, which fluctuates on an 11-year cycle. The particles from the sun have been racing towards Earth, and once they enter the atmosphere they disturb the Earth’s magnetic field, resulting in a solar storm.
The lights were visible as far north and south in the DMV as Montgomery County, Maryland and Loudoun County in Virginia.
Some Maryland viewers reported seeing a red aurora, which can also be seen in the photos above, which is very unusual this far south, per The Baltimore Banner. Also according to the Baltimore Banner, the current solar storms are ranked high, a 4 in a severity scale from 1-5, which may have been why the red was visible. They are the highest ranked in the area since the 2003 storm around Halloween. That storm was so strong that it had detrimental effects to satellite systems.
Will it happen again?
According to Earth.com, the solar storms will continue through Oct. 12, with the sun’s activity levels ranging from G4 (severe) and to G5 (Extreme). As a result, solar flares, bursts of magnetic energy coming from the sun, may occur tonight, ranging from moderate to X-Class. NASA puts X-Class solar flares on a scale from X1 to X9, but the scale has been broken before with the highest solar flare being classified as an X28. While it’s unlikely that the storms will be as visible in the DC area as they were On Oct. 10, residents may be able to catch a quick glimpse.
