HackingTheUniverse

On Sunday, August 1, 2010, the side of the Sun facing the Earth erupted with a “coronal mass ejection” and a lot of other activity. This is a when a huge bubble of gas throws a large blob of plasma out into space and in this case it’s streaming toward Earth at a very high rate of speed. When the plasma arrives and interacts with our atmosphere, it can cause magnetic anomalies and the beautiful auroras known as “the northern lights”. Observers now say that four ejections were thrown out and are headed our way, the first of which began arriving earlier this afternoon. They will continue to impact us for the next several days.

Solar Storm Update: Best Times for Viewing Aurorae – [universetoday.com]

The Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics released the latest information on the July 31/August 1 activity on the Sun that is just now reaching Earth. They predict we’ll have multiple opportunities for a display of the Northern Lights over the next two days. The latest word from the solar scientists is that the Sun erupted not just once, but four times. All four coronal mass ejections are headed toward Earth.

Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES – [noaa.gov]

The plots on this page show the current extent and position of the auroral oval at each pole, extrapolated from measurements taken during the most recent polar pass of the NOAA POES satellite.

Space Weather Prediction Center – [noaa.gov]

Aurora Alert: The Sun is Waking Up! – [harvard.edu]

Sky viewers might get to enjoy some spectacular Northern Lights, or aurorae, tomorrow. After a long slumber, the Sun is waking up. Early Sunday morning, the Sun’s surface erupted and blasted tons of plasma (ionized atoms) into interplanetary space. That plasma is headed our way, and when it arrives, it could create a spectacular light show.

“This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on August 4th,” said astronomer Leon Golub of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). “It’s the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time.”