Spectacular Northern Lights Show Signals Sun Is Waking Up

[G_j]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun-eruption-aurora-activity-100802.html

Spectacular Northern Lights Show Signals Sun Is Waking Up
By SPACE.com Staff

posted: 02 August 2010
06:17 pm ET

Skywatchers at high latitudes could be in for a spectacular treat of northern lights, the aurora borealis, Tuesday and Wednesday: After a relatively quiet stretch, it appears the sun is ramping up its activity.

The sun's surface erupted early Sunday, blasting tons of plasma (ionized atoms) into space. These atoms are headed toward Earth and could create a stunning light show in the process.

"This eruption is directed right at us and is expected to get here early in the day on Aug. 4th," said Leon Golub of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time."

The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection, was spotted by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory , which captures high-definition views of the sun at a variety of wavelengths. SDO was launched in February and peers deep into the layers of the sun, investigating the mysteries of its inner workings.

..more..



Sun is shown early in morning of

In this x-ray photo provided by NASA, the sun is shown early in the morning of Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. The dark arc near the top right edge of the image is a filament of plasma blasting off the surface — part of the coronal mass ejection. The bright region is an unassociated solar flare. When particles from the eruption reach Earth on the evening of Aug. 3-4, they may trigger a brilliant auroral display known as the Northern Lights.… Read more »
(AP Photo/NASA)

[Cleita]

1. K&R

[pengillian101]

2. I hope to catch the show in northern MN again!

I've seen the multi-colored one time. Unbelievable.



http://www.startribune.com/local/99849344.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBDia_nDaycUiacyKUHDYaGEP7eyckcUX

[Bitwit1234]

3. The weatherman said to watch the Northern Sky

tonight because we should be able to see the lights after midnight. Sure hope so. The last time this spring when they said to watch it was cloudy and we saw nothing.

[pengillian101]

4. After midnight! OK and THANKS!

:hi:

[G_j]

5. let us know

what you see.. :hi:

[mdmc]

6. ..