Northern Lights are expected above our heads after a powerful solar flare

It is a glorious spectacle that can be offered to us. No Northern Lights Expected in the sky during the night of Sunday March 24 to Monday March 25, 2024, especially in the northern part, then Solar explosion This happened on Saturday.

If we are careful, as this astronomical event is difficult to predict (and cloud cover and a full moon may well come and spoil it), the spectacle can be there.

A major solar flare

It is first necessary to explain the origin of this possible event, which is connected to a solar flare of major magnitude, which occurred early on Saturday morning. According to the Paris Observatory, solar flares are “the most violent manifestations of our star’s activity”.

Many of these are accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), during which part of the Sun’s outer atmosphere—the corona—is ejected into interplanetary space.

Collision with Earth’s magnetic field

This event has a direct impact on us. First, the creation of the Northern Lights. When particles ejected from the Sun encounter Earth’s magnetic field, these collisions cause bursts of light that, together, create a vast colorful curtain in the sky.

Generally speaking, the northern lights are seen in the polar regions (north and south, where they are called the astral lights), where the magnetic fields exit and enter. But it is possible to see them almost everywhere on Earth, especially in France, when the solar storm is very strong. And this is especially the case at the moment.

Whether the Northern Lights will be visible remains to be seen. As explainedactu.fr “The magnetic storm associated with the solar flare is of magnitude KP7 or 8 (disruption of the Earth’s magnetic field, recorded on a scale of 9, editor’s note), which is quite high,” said meteorologist Guillaume Sachet, founder of the Meteo-Villes site.

Full moon very bright

According to the Aurora-Maniacs site, which lists forecasts for the Northern Lights, the peak of geomagnetic activity is expected between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. So it is likely that these formed in the sky.

Unfortunately, a full moon is also expected overnight from Sunday to Monday. “The northern lights are visible when the light is very low, which is not the case the night before. »

The sky sometimes has nice surprises in store. If you are awake at night, don’t hesitate to look out the window.

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