Powerful solar storm hits Earth for New Year’s Eve

People in some areas of the United States may get a rare opportunity to view the colourful Northern Lights as the aurora borealis passes through. The solar event due to hit in the next 24 hours is classified as a G3 storm, and could lead to fluctuations in some power grids, occasional radio blackouts at higher latitudes and some Global Positioning System issues are also anticipated. The event could last into New Year’s Eve. A physicist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explained it as a piece of the sun’s atmosphere, containing electrons and protons and carrying a magnetic field. This one is directly aimed at Earth. Owing to which there is a good percentage of possibility that the particles may interact with earth’s magnetic field.

Meanwhile, the Aurora Forecast at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute shows an active display starting January 1, 2016. First of all, timing is everything. A solar flare is a “burst of emission of X-rays, extreme ultraviolet rays and sometimes even gamma rays from a location on the sun”, said Martens. An unusual G4 geomagnetic storm is expected to hit California, so Californians should also expect to see the eerie light show. G3 geomagnetic storming could affect satellite and low-frequency radio navigation, according to the SWPC.

When solar particles containing high energy hit the electromagnetic field of the Earth, the aurora borealis is created. If you’d like to catch the lights, be sure to go away from the city center toward areas with little light pollution. You may have better chances of witnessing the phenomenon the closer you are to Washington.

In fact, there’s a chance the Northern Lights may be seen as far south as San Francisco. Santa Claus sees them a lot more often than we do.

There are two types of Aurora – Aurora Borealis, which means “dawn of the north”, and Aurora Australis, ‘dawn of the south’. It takes some time for the effects to be felt on Earth, which is why we won’t see anything unusual until December 31. The agency said that on New Year’s Day the solar radiation would calm down, so it isn’t clear whether there would be enough radiation to keep the Northern Lights lit.