Weekend auroras are likely - Heads up!!
The CME launched toward Earth by yesterday's X-flare is moving faster than originally thought. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab have revised their forecast accordingly, advancing the cloud's expected arrival time to 09:17 UT (5:17 am EDT) on Saturday, July 14th. Weekend auroras are likely.
SOUTH POLE AURORAS: In a possible preview of the light show to come, bright auroras have been dancing over Earth's south pole. Robert Schwarz took this picture on July 12th from the grounds of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station:
"Yesterday we had some of the best auroras I've seen," says Schwarz.
Despite its high latitude, the South Pole is not always a good place to see the lights because it is often located in the "doughnut hole" of the aurora oval. July 12th was an exception: "Look carefully at the picture and you can see the actual Pole in the foreground" Schwarz points out.
NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of strong polar geeomagnetic storms on July 14th when a CME is expected to crash into Earth's magnetic field. More South Pole auroras could be in the offing.
The radiation storm, in progress, ranks "S1" on NOAA space weather scales, which means it poses no serious threat to satellites or astronauts. This could change if the storm continues to intensify. Stay tuned.
Good deal of this info was copied from http://www.spaceweather.com/
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Serial Number: 199
Issue Time: 2012 Jul 14 1914 UTC
WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6 expected
Valid From: 2012 Jul 14 1915 UTC
Valid To: 2012 Jul 14 2359 UTC
Warning Condition: Onset
NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms.
Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.
................................................. .....................
Space Weather Message Code: ALTK05
Serial Number: 696
Issue Time: 2012 Jul 14 1853 UTC
ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 5
Threshold Reached: 2012 Jul 14 1851 UTC
Synoptic Period: 1800-2100 UTC
Active Warning: Yes
NOAA Scale: G1 - Minor
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible.
Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine.
I want to share that another member was able to collect a few photos after the storm.
Link to LowerCal
I am looking right now for some photo to post up in here..I was too far south of the North Pole down in Mississippi USA to catch any bit of the wonderful colors of the night sky.
I am off to look at the link to LowerCal's for the photos.
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