- Northern lights over Canada, Norway and UK after biggest solar storm since 2005
- Activity could continue until Wednesday
- Strongest radiation storm since May 2005; protons flying out from sun at 93 million miles per hour
The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, Canada and Norway after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.
The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky.
Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.
Auroras seen from Norway: A spectacular ‘coronal mass ejection’ following a solar flare has caused magnetic storms- but rarely are they do form such amazing shapes as this bird-like creation
The northern lights are caused by particles from the sun interacting with our atmosphere – and create spectacular displays of green light
The view from Lapland: A human figure stands out against the green sky
Background movement: People chat while the sky goes crazy above them
WHAT ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS? WHY ARE THEY GREEN?
The Northern Lights are caused by particles from the sun colliding with atoms in the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, 60 to 200 miles up.
These particles stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1million mph after events called ‘coronal mass ejections’ on the sun’s surface, and are drawn to Earth’s northern and southern poles by its magnetic field.
Which atoms the electrons encounter when they hit the Earth – either oxygen or nitrogen – and the altitude at which they meet, determine whether the colours are green, red, blue or purple.
The lights have been seen so far south because the solar explosion that sent out the particles was particularly strong.
The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from as far south as northeast England, a rarity.
Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they can also bring trouble.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.
Radiation from Sunday’s flare arrived at Earth an hour later and will probably continue through until Wednesday, NOAA experts say. Levels are considered strong but other storms have been more severe.
There are two higher levels of radiation on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s storm scale of ‘severe’ and ‘extreme’, space weather centre physicist Doug Biesecker said.
This storm is the strongest for radiation since May 2005. The radiation – in the form of protons – came flying out of the sun at 93 million miles per hour.
‘The whole volume of space between here and Jupiter is just filled with protons and you just don’t get rid of them like that,’ he said, explaining why the effects will stick around for a couple of days.
NASA’s flight surgeons and solar experts examined the solar flare’s expected effects.
Vapour trails: The green wisps shoot through the sky of their own accord
Auroras over Norway this week: The activity this week is the strongest since 2005, say space weather experts
The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, are seen near the town of Lakselv, at the mouth of the Porsanger Fjord, in Northern Norway
The northern lights in Donegal in Ireland: The effect is not normally seen so far south
Canada and Norway have seen some of the most spectacular activity this week
Bright lights: This image shows a solar flare erupting on the Sun’s northeastern hemisphere. Space weather officials say the strongest solar storm in more than six years is already bombarding Earth
Awesome: Coronal mass ejections propel matter from the sun out of the sun’s magnetic field. They can include billions of tons of matter and travel at up to a million miles per hourThey decided that the six astronauts on the International Space Station do not have to do anything to protect themselves from the radiation, spokesman Rob Navias said.
A solar eruption is followed by a one-two-three punch, said Antti Pulkkinen, a physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and Catholic University.
First comes electromagnetic radiation, followed by radiation in the form of protons. Then, finally the coronal mass ejection – that’s the plasma from the sun itself – hits.
Into the blue: The green skies continue their dance as dawn breaks
Usually that travels at about 1 or 2 million miles per hour, but this storm is particularly speedy and is shooting out at 4 million miles per hour, Mr Biesecker said.
Plasma causes much of the noticeable problems on Earth, such as electrical grid outages. In 1989, a solar storm caused a massive blackout in Quebec. It can also pull the northern lights further south.
But this coronal mass ejection seems likely to be only moderate, with a chance for becoming strong, Mr Biesecker said. The worst of the storm is likely to go north of Earth.
[youtube]lHRLlwyE728[/youtube]