A dramatic event on the surface of the sun is creating a strong electromagnetic storm in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is already affecting radio transmissions in the northernmost part of the world and, come nightfall, it could produce northern lights strong enough to be visible as far south as New Orleans.
Earlier this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare “level 4” geomagnetic storm warning. It is the first time it has done so in more than 20 years. Electromagnetic storms happen when the earth’s magnetosphere, the part of its atmosphere that contains its magnetic field, is disturbed.
Dr. Greg Seab, astrophysicist and University of New Orleans physics professor, said an unusually large cluster of sunspots is to blame for this one. He described it as “the biggest, most complex sunspot group since 1859.”
Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, can happen around sunspots. CMEs are bursts of the sun’s atmosphere that are hurtled into space. Friday, the NOAA said at least 7 were spotted this week and were on their way to Earth and could merge.
The event will not be dangerous to human bodies, said Dr. Seab. But farther north, they could affect telecommunications, power grids, and satellite services through the weekend. Some radio blackouts had already been reported Friday.
Here in Louisiana, it is unlikely to happen. “By the time you get to the latitude of New Orleans,” said Dr. Seab, “our earth's magnetic field is going to be largely protecting us from the effects of it.”
That means our area is also too far south to see what is already shaping up to be an amazing northern lights display. There is only a very small chance we could catch a glimpse close to the horizon.
It happened in southeast Louisiana in 1989. Then, it was visible as a red glow on the horizon. In 1859, historical records describe an electromagnetic storm that caused the northern lights to be visible as far south as the Caribbean.
If you want to take a chance, John Martinez with the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society advises finding “a dark place with a clear view towards the north” and looking “for a faint reddish or greenish glow in the sky.”
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