How geomagnetic storm and sunspot can cause aurora borealis; to understand

Last Friday (10), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it had detected activity in a large sunspot in the processes of the main star in the Solar System. caused an intense geomagnetic storm over the weekend; One of the most important effects of this was the formation of aurora borealis in various parts of the world..

Although they are most commonly observed in Earth’s polar regions, geomagnetic storms have allowed other places to enjoy the celestial spectacle of the aurora borealis as well. In the Southern Hemisphere, spectators were able to enjoy the southern polar lights; They normally occur only in Uruguay, but residents of some cities in Argentina, such as Buenos Aires and Córdoba, have also observed this phenomenon. — The name Aurora australis is given to the version of the event that occurred in the south of the planet.

Auroras are generally considered rare events in nature, but last weekend was different due to the interaction between powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and the Earth’s magnetic field.

NOAA commented that at least five CMEs are heading toward Earth, each with a different orbit and speed. Ejections are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields originating from the solar corona.

“[A aurora] It was one of those rare moments when you can be in harmony with Mother Earth, with the universe; It was so perfect. When there is perfect isolation, the negative ends meet the positive ends and this brings all the energy; This is what we want. [O que aconteceu na] Friday was absolutely phenomenal; Aurora was visible as far as the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and Mexico,” NOAA’s Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), said in a message to the Space website.

What is the relationship between aurora borealis and a solar storm?

geomagnetic storm Considered one of the largest solar flares of the last 20 years; A similar warning was issued in January 2005, according to NOAA.

In addition to the effects causing more auroras around the world, scientists predicted that the solar storm could also affect electrical networks, communications, and GPS navigation systems; the effects were only noticed in some cities, but other incidents causing further inconvenience have already occurred.

According to the MetSul Meteorologia website, Brazilian residents did not observe any incidents during the event. However, viewers in the resort town of Punta del Diablo, near the border between Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay, were also able to observe the aurora australis.

“If you ask me, I would say a total solar eclipse. [evento] clearly number one [para observar]. But seeing auroras near a bright comet is incredible. And if you’re near the far north or south, we can get not just the colors of the sky, but the actual fluctuating curtains of cloud cover. This is great. “It’s really cool that this is spreading to more people around the world,” astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi said in a message to CNN.

Did you like the content? Stay up to date with the latest developments in solar energy activities at TecMundo. If you want, take the opportunity to understand what a solar maximum is and what to expect.