Major Solar Storm Hits Earth, May Pull Northern Lights South

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A severe solar storm smacked Earth with a surprisingly big geomagnetic jolt Tuesday, potentially affecting power grids and GPS tracking while pushing the colorful northern lights farther south, federal forecasters said.

So far no damage has been reported. Two blasts of magnetic plasma left the sun on Sunday, combined and arrived on Earth about 15 hours earlier and much stronger than expected, said Thomas Berger, director of the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

This storm ranks a 4, called severe, on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 1-to-5 scale for geomagnetic effects. It is the strongest solar storm to blast Earth since the fall of 2013. It's been nearly a decade since a level 5 storm, termed extreme, has hit Earth.

Forecasters figured it would come late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning; instead, it arrived just before 10 a.m. EDT. They had forecast it to be a level 1.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_SOLAR_STORM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-03-17-14-03-53

---

Putin's fault!!!

[Voice for Peace]

1. I knew it! there was all sorts of solar plasma all over the place this morning.

And all of my refrigerator magnets are upside down today.
That tricky old sol.

[Faygo Kid]

2. I'm in northern Michigan, and heading outside tonight.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Purveyor]

5. Hoping to see the lights as far south as Grass Lake, Mi.

[Demeter]

7. And I'll be stuck in a board meeting until 9 PM

Maybe they will still be shining?

[ybbor]

22. I'll be looking for them in Ann Arbor

I saw them as far south as Telluride, CO once. That's near the Four Corners. It was crazy.

I'm hoping they'll be out in A2.

[bravenak]

3. Yay!!!

Take pictures and post them whoever gets sight of it. The first tine I saw it live it knocked my breath out. It felt like the day the world was born.

[Delphinus]

13. Oh,

my, what a lovely description - "like the day the world was born". That brings peace.

[bravenak]

16. I'm glad.

You'll feel it too.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Severe geomagnetic storm spurs beautiful aurora, could continue Tuesday evening (Photos)

Severe geomagnetic storm spurs beautiful aurora, could continue Tuesday evening (Photos)

Capital Weather Gang
By Angela Fritz March 17 at 12:45 PM
@angelafritz



The aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Monday night. (John Chumack via spaceweather.com)

....
Should the geomagnetic storm continue at its current intensity into the evening, locations in the middle U.S. — and even the D.C. area — could have the opportunity to see the aurora on Tuesday night. In previous geo-storms of this magnitude, “we have seen reports of aurora as far south as Tennessee, New Mexico, and Oklahoma,” said Brent Gordon, the center’s branch chief. “A lot of factors go into whether you can see the aurora, cloud cover most importantly, and proximity to city lights. We are favorable in terms of the moon being crescent, which will give us pretty dark skies.”
....



The aurora in Donnelly Creek, Alaska, early Tuesday morning. (Sebastian Saarloos via NASA Goddard)

[LibertyLover]

11. It's clear here in DC at the moment

I'll head out this evening and hope to see the Aurora. I vaguely remember being very young and my mom taking me out one cold winter's night to see them when I lived in New Jersey. Very cool.

[GeorgeGist]

14. Woah ...

wouldn't want to be high at Donnelly Creek this morning.

[ColesCountyDem]

6. Solar plasma, ectoplasm-- so hard to remember the difference.

I could've sworn that that glop on my shoe this morning was solar plasma, but it seems I was wrong.

[magical thyme]

8. cloudy as usual in Maine

any time something celestial happens...

[Brigid]

9. Isn't that how that movie "2012" started?

[Ilsa]

27. Oh yeah, and it supposedly affected the

Earth's core, causing magma shifts or something.

Another good one starred Nicholas Cage. "Knowing" was about a different star causing the earth to explode, but the storyline was about aliens coming to earth to get kids and take them to a new world. It was not a "feel good" movie!

[hopemountain]

10. "aurora" is one of the most

popular baby names at this time - it means "morning light" or "dawn"... what a co-inky-dink...

[cosmicone]

12. Thanks, Obama. n/t

[underpants]

15. LOL

[SheilaT]

17. As a child in Northern New York State I saw the Northern Lights all the time.

I miss them.

I'm currently in New Mexico, and while I have amazing night skies, I'm much to far south to see this.

[Dont call me Shirley]

19. I believe it was 1999 or so, when NM was graced with a southern light episode. If the clouds

clear up tonight maybe we will have another.

[SheilaT]

20. I'll have to go outside and look!

I've only been here since 2008.

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Me too! Fingers crossed!

[Thor_MN]

23. Southern lights? In New Mexico?

They would have had to cross the equator and get all the way to 30 degrees North...

[project_bluebook]

18. solar cycle 24 is one of the weakest cycles in more than a century

The sun is just too quite but it does burp once in a while. HF communications suck today but nothing real unusual.

[8 track mind]

24. I disagree with that

I have been totally tearing up 10 meters as of late. I have made my first international contacts into Europe. I haven't had activity like this since the 80's. What bands are you using?

[project_bluebook]

26. Oh, yes, Congrats on the contacts, the bands do still come alive

I worked from Slovakia to Brazil the other weekend on 15 & 20, even 40 was great to SAmerica but it took 100 watts and a good ant. I'm comparing to cycles of old, late 1970's to early 80's, from MI, in the summer, I could work all of Europe daily, NZ and Japan early to late evening with 4 watts output on 10 & 15 meters (using an Argonaut 515 with a wire dipole slung in the trees). This cycle isn't a complete wash, its just rather bland but the challenge adds to the fun.

[8 track mind]

29. Yeah it was totally awesome!!!

I managed to nail France and England in the morning, and work most of South America in the evening. I'm using a 100" whip with four ground radials at a 45 degree angle at about 100 watts. Asia and the Middle east are still unobtained at this moment but i do hear them every once in a while. BTW as a heads up, they have authorized a ham station in North Korea. The pile up on this one will be huge, but it will be worth it!

[Yonx]

25. When I was a kid and I first saw Northern Lights

I freaked out, lol. I thought something bad was happening like, the world was going to end. Then I learned the scientific facts behind it.

It's a beautiful show though.

[Major Hogwash]

28. Republicans deny the existence of solar storms, too.

They think any electromagnetic impulses coming from the sun are deflected off of the flat surface of the Earth.