From spaceweather.com:
MAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of March 1st. The impact sparked a geomagnetic storm that was, at first, minor, but the storm has been intensifying throughout the day. Spotters are now reporting auroras over Northern Ireland, Latvia, Norway, and Sweden. If trends continue, the display could spread to the high latitudes of North America after nightfall. Stay tuned! [Aurora alerts: phone, text]
NASA space physicist James Spann sends this picture from Poker Flat, Alaska, where he is attending a scientific conference to study auroras:
"This is the first time I have seen the aurora borealis in person," says Spann who lives in Alabama. "It was fantastic--the greatest light show on Earth. It was cold (<-20 F) outside but worth every minute of exposure and lost sleep. I am afraid now that I have been ruined for life since my first personal viewing of the aurora was so amazing."
As a researcher he also appreciated the greater meaning of the display: "This is the most obvious and accessible evidence of the connectivity that Earth has with our star the sun. Witnessing the connectivity first-hand was particularly special to me."
Comments
I absolutely understand Rosemary, but a joke is simply joke, I have witness the Aurora Borealis a few times in my life and yes it is spectacular and amazing and life changing and a multitude of other platitudes can be assigned to it.....yet in the end it is still a display of solar radiation interacting with our atmosphere....the greater the spectacle the more radiation is present and yes our bodies can tolerate a certain amount of this radiation and even requires it, but as we all have come to know, radiation stays with you and accumulates over time, so being careful with doses does make a difference in a person's life. Over the past few months, many post have dealt with the simple reality that the sun is waking and that means more particle flows in our direction, more cme, more flares and more sunspots......I love the sun and the light but there are times we just have to be careful......and its not the light that you see that kills you its the ultraviolet light that is hidden to our eyes that has the most negative effect on us....... Just be careful if watching the Aurora, stand under a concrete awning or something considering it will be splayed across the sky, the view should still be pretty spectacular. Just my thought :)
Thanks Keith for the information. I have bookmark the page. I live above Seattle. I am assuming that my location is above 52.7 and my chances of seeing them is 9 to 10.
Alex yes I am happy to be bombarded by solar radiation. First of all, the display is really fantastic to watch and we are and have been bombarded by radiation since our birth. Our body can withstand this type of radiation that in the medical profession is considered relatively safe and our body does adapt to it to a certain extent. We the body is affected is during a nuclear accident like Chernobyl and repeated exposure to radiation from work occupation.