Aurora Borealis Possible on Canada's Northern Skies Following Wednesday's Coronal Mass Ejection, Experts Announce

According to experts, Wednesday's coronal mass ejection could cause the aurora borealis spectacle to be visible in Canada's northern skies.

Coronal Mass Ejection, Then Aurora Borealis

A significant coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun erupted on Wednesday, and when it reaches Earth, it may cause auroras to appear in the night sky.

Experts said that this Saturday night, skywatchers should keep a watchful eye on the northern sky for a chance to see the Aurora Borealis.

This "canyon of fire" on the Sun's surface, which frequently occurs in space weather when a solar filament or prominence breaks loose and causes a CME, was photographed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

These occurrences alter the magnetic field of the Sun, generating a blazing canyon with walls of hot plasma that can extend for thousands of kilometers.

The CME's exit from the Sun was later confirmed by NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.

The solar storm is anticipated to cross Earth on Saturday, causing a mild (G1) geomagnetic storm overnight.

However, the arrival of the CME and its effects on the Earth's magnetic field could affect the timing and strength of the solar storm.

Results of CMEs

Some extremely potent solar storms may have detrimental effects, such as the ability to damage and malfunction spacecraft that are in Earth's orbit. As they have an impact on local electrical grids, they may even cause blackouts.

A G1 geomagnetic storm isn't as dangerous as described, though.

A storm of this strength is most likely to cause displays of the Aurora Borealis, popularly known as the Northern Lights, to appear farther south than usual.

Aurora displays are usually only seen in northern Canada during "quiet" space weather. They will typically go as far south as Newfoundland, middle Quebec, the northern coasts of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, across the southern Prairie provinces, and the center of British Columbia during a G1 geomagnetic storm.

Stronger coronal mass ejections CMEs, such as the ones that erupt into space after a severe X-class solar flare, are often the cause of stronger geomagnetic storms.

They can also happen when the effects of a CME and solar wind combine to intensify the magnetic disturbance.

Equinox Cracks and Auroras

Around the spring and fall equinoxes, the phenomenon known as "equinox cracks" can occasionally cause even minor solar storms to have large consequences.

When the magnetic field of a passing CME interacts with the Earth's magnetic field in a way that causes the two fields to partially cancel one another out, holes called equinox cracks develop in the geomagnetic field of the planet.

A substantial amount of charged particles from the CME alongside the solar wind are permitted to pour into the upper atmosphere from space when one of these gaps occurs.

The charged solar particles that make the auroras transfer their energy to the nitrogen and oxygen atoms and molecules in the earth's atmosphere, which then produces flashes of colored light.

Because of this, when a torrent of them passes through an equinox break, it can cause aurora displays to be extremely strong and visible far farther south than they would normally be.