Мы в Telegram
Добавить новость
123ru.net
BusinessInsider.com
Март
2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

'Holes' in Earth's magnetic field could cause extra northern lights this month. Here's how to spot them.

0

This may be the best month to see the Northern Lights, aka aurora borealis. The spring equinox is coming, which can lead to "holes" in Earth's magnetic field.

Auroras seen above a lighthouse.
The northern lights in Whitley Bay, England April 24, 2023.
  • March 2024 may be the best month in the best year to see the Northern Lights, aka aurora borealis.
  • That's because the sun is hyperactive, and the equinox can create holes in Earth's magnetic field.
  • Here's everything you need to know to spot the northern lights.

This could be the best month, of the best year for two decades, to see the Northern Lights, in part, thanks to openings in Earth's magnetic field.

The aurora borealis, commonly called the Northern Lights, are the stunning ribbons of shimmering green, pink, purple, and red that dance in the skies of the Arctic.

A picture from Riverton's national weather service in Wyoming shows purple and green northern lights shining behind a spherical structure in the foreground.
The northern lights dance in the skies above Riverton, Wyoming.

When conditions are just right, they can appear as far south as Arizona or even Florida.

If you're lucky and you plan right, you might be able to see the Northern Lights this month. This all applies to the aurora australis (the Southern Lights) as well, in places like Australia and New Zealand.

Why the sun and holes in our magnetic field make good auroras now

The Northern Lights occur when charged particles and magnetic fields flowing out of the sun, called the solar wind, wash over Earth.

Solar Wind
An animation of the solar wind shows particles streaming from the sun towards Earth.

Our planet's magnetic field channels the solar wind toward the poles, where the charged solar particles interact with molecules in the atmosphere to make the colorful aurora.

aurora southern lights earth atmosphere international space station iss
The Aurora Australis, or southern lights, as seen from the International Space Station.

Both steps of that process are ramped up right now.

For one, the sun is near the peak of its solar cycle. Powerful eruptions, solar flares, and bursts of solar wind from coronal holes in the sun's atmosphere are becoming more common, sending more winds rushing over our planet.

coronal hole
A coronal hole rotates across the face of the sun, streaming solar wind towards Earth.

Secondly, once those winds reach Earth, spring and fall are the best times for them to produce a spectacular aurora. Scientists think that's because of the equinoxes.

The equinox happens when Earth's axis is perpendicular to the sun's rays. That causes a special alignment where our planet's magnetic field points in precisely the opposite direction of many of the solar wind's magnetic fields.

This alignment causes the Earth and sun's magnetic fields to merge. The process, called magnetic reconnection, creates openings in Earth's magnetic field that allow the solar wind to transfer energy to our atmosphere, and potentially cause more aurora.

spring equinox sunlight earth axis tilt bi graphics
An illustration of the spring equinox.

Though he doesn't like the analogy, Matt Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, told Business Insider in an email that "the reconnection process could be very loosely described as making holes or cracks in the magnetosphere."

Specifically, March was the most active month for auroras in a NASA study of 75 years of data. October was a close second, then April, then September.

March 2023 saw the biggest aurora event of that year, for example. At the end of the month, a series of solar activities triggered auroras so powerful that they appeared across the US, as far south as Phoenix, Arizona.

It happened quickly, though, and most people missed it.

How to see and photograph the aurora

A man in heavy clothing takes pictures of the southern lights.
A photographer takes pictures of the aurora australis, also known as the southern lights, on the outskirts of Christchurch, New Zealand.

First, check the aurora forecast on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. If things are happening on the sun, this can change day-to-day.

When the northern lights come to lower latitudes, including most of the US, they can be fainter than they appear in photos from Alaska or Norway.

Instead of this…

ribbons of green pink purple northern lights stretch across the night sky above homes and lights of a sprawling town
Northern Lights, also called aurora borealis, dance in the sky over Tromso, Norway.

… you might be looking for something like this:

The lights are seen floating above the National Weather Service office.
Northern lights could be seen above the National Weather service office in Gaylor, Missouri.

So if you live in a city, do your best to leave it. Find a safe spot with clear, dark skies far from city lights.

Prepare for cold weather with blankets and hot beverages. You may have used your phone or looked at screens to get you where you need to go, so be patient, and let your eyes adjust to the darkness.

If you can't leave the city, do your best to block out its light pollution. Go to a nearby nature reserve, or the top of a hill, and try to keep the city lights out of your gaze.

Look for anything colorful and out of the ordinary. There are several different types of aurora.

You can try to snap pictures of the auroras with a camera, but make sure not to transfer it too quickly from a hot to a cold environment to avoid condensation, according to the Royal Photographic Society.

Preset your camera before leaving a warmer space so your fingers don't get too cold — higher aperture may be better, but you may have to adjust your settings if the aurora is moving quickly. You can find information on how to set SLR cameras here.

This could be your best chance for another decade

The tornado is shown here on the surface of the sun.
A tornado-like plasma filament appears near the north pole of the sun.

The sun could reach solar maximum this year or next year. That happens when our star's poles flip, causing havoc in its magnetic fields and peak solar activity.

That's why in the past year, we've seen a plasma vortex swirling like a whirlpool around the solar pole, a massive coronal "hole" in our sun, and a solar "tornado" the size of 14 Earths.

It's been about a decade since the last solar maximum, and when it's over the sun's activity will die down and it will be another 11 years until the next one.

Read the original article on Business Insider





Загрузка...


Губернаторы России
Москва

Собянин: Объем закупок у малого бизнеса с 2024 года составил почти 227 миллиардов


Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Московские школьники завоевали четыре медали на престижной Международной олимпиаде


Загрузка...

Все новости спорта сегодня


Новости тенниса
WTA

Самсонова вышла в четвертьфинал турнира WTA в Хертогенбосе


Загрузка...


123ru.net – это самые свежие новости из регионов и со всего мира в прямом эфире 24 часа в сутки 7 дней в неделю на всех языках мира без цензуры и предвзятости редактора. Не новости делают нас, а мы – делаем новости. Наши новости опубликованы живыми людьми в формате онлайн. Вы всегда можете добавить свои новости сиюминутно – здесь и прочитать их тут же и – сейчас в России, в Украине и в мире по темам в режиме 24/7 ежесекундно. А теперь ещё - регионы, Крым, Москва и Россия.


Загрузка...

Загрузка...

Экология в России и мире
Москва

Перечислены виды транспорта, которые выпускаются в «Технополисе Москва»





Путин в России и мире
Москва

Путин по телефону обсудил с президентом Киргизии взаимодействие в рамках ЕАЭС


Лукашенко в Беларуси и мире
Минск

Армения выразила протест Минску из-за заявлений МИД Белоруссии




123ru.netмеждународная интерактивная информационная сеть (ежеминутные новости с ежедневным интелектуальным архивом). Только у нас — все главные новости дня без политической цензуры. "123 Новости" — абсолютно все точки зрения, трезвая аналитика, цивилизованные споры и обсуждения без взаимных обвинений и оскорблений. Помните, что не у всех точка зрения совпадает с Вашей. Уважайте мнение других, даже если Вы отстаиваете свой взгляд и свою позицию. Smi24.net — облегчённая версия старейшего обозревателя новостей 123ru.net.

Мы не навязываем Вам своё видение, мы даём Вам объективный срез событий дня без цензуры и без купюр. Новости, какие они есть — онлайн (с поминутным архивом по всем городам и регионам России, Украины, Белоруссии и Абхазии).

123ru.net — живые новости в прямом эфире!

В любую минуту Вы можете добавить свою новость мгновенно — здесь.





Зеленский в Украине и мире

Навальный в России и мире


Здоровье в России и мире


Частные объявления в Вашем городе, в Вашем регионе и в России






Загрузка...

Загрузка...



Сергей Брановицкий

Создание сайта. Создание сайта с нуля. Создание веб сайта.



Москва

Гала-концерт фестиваля духовых оркестров в Тамбове можно посмотреть онлайн

Друзья 123ru.net


Информационные партнёры 123ru.net



Спонсоры 123ru.net