I just happened to check spaceweather.com a little while ago and read that the solar wind buffeted the Earth last night. The aurora was visible as far south as Lansing, Michigan, which is only a half-degree farther north in latitude than we are.The Space Weather Prediction Center (a branch of NOAA, just like the National Weather Service is) has a geomagnetic warning out because they expect the solar wind to continue to produce conditions for minor to perhaps moderate geomagnetic activity. With the clouds starting to part tonight, take a peek outside and away from city lights and there's the possibility you'll catch the aurora. Doesn't look like a high chance, but I'd say it's worth checking on... if you wear your coat.
We need a K-index (or Kp value) of 7 to see it basically overhead at midnight (at least, here in Rockford). A K-index of 5 or 6 allows us to to see it closer to the horizon. The K-index is shown on the left column at www.spaceweather.com.
3 comments:
It's snowing in DeKalb right now. What happened to the spring like temps we were supposed to get? :) lol, I just keep crossing my fingers!
Thanks for the information! I actually saw a decent Aurora around the year 2000, drove out of the city and watched it for a couple hours, wanna say it occurred around 2am. I live in Alaska now so I have gotten a bit spoiled. Take care
The spring-like temps are on there way, but it is a struggle because of all of the snowpack still sitting on the ground. Over the next 7 days, I can see above average high temperatures for three of them. The mercury should climb into the upper 40s and low 50s Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Patience is a virtue although my patience is wearing thin as well.
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