Missed The Northern Lights? Don't Worry, Another Show Expected Next Month

Last week, certain parts of the world were fortunate to glimpse the aurora borealis. If you have missed the spectacular sight, don't worry. There is a possibility of another appearance as early as next month.

The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, grace the sky when charged particles from the sun journey through space and collide with the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in mesmerising light displays. 

The vast sunspot cluster, which released energy and gas towards Earth a few days back, is expected to rotate back towards us in approximately two weeks, scientists say, as per BBC. They think it will still be big and complex enough to cause more explosions that could create more Northern Lights.

Since this past Saturday, the Sun has continued to emit heightened radiation levels. A significant solar flare occurred on Tuesday, disrupting high-frequency radio communications on a global scale. This particularly active sunspot is not an isolated event. The Sun is nearing what is referred to as "solar maximum" – a phase in its 11-year cycle when its activity is strongest. 

Last weekend's Northern Lights were the result of a big solar storm, as reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The storm was caused by a bunch of solar flares combining into a huge burst of solar plasma.

According to Sean Elvidge, a professor of space environment at the University of Birmingham, the geomagnetic storm that occurred last weekend was a once-in-30-year event and the most significant since 2003, reported BBC. It was triggered by at least five coronal mass ejections (giant bursts of charged particles). These CMEs took roughly 18 hours to travel from the Sun to Earth, where they interacted with our magnetic field, known as the magnetosphere.

According to Krista Hammond from the Met Office, the massive sunspot was about 15 times the size of Earth “on the Earth-facing side of the sun”, sending out a lot of solar flares and  CMEs, reported News Sky.

Some of these bursts met up with each other, making the resulting geomagnetic storm much stronger by the time it reached Earth. The intensity of the storm was so remarkable that it received a G5 alert rating, which is the highest designation given by forecasters at both the Met Office and the NOAA, as per BBC.