ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2004) — A spot on the sun is bursting with large flares and tremendous coronal mass ejections, sending charged solar particles to Earth. The waves of particles descending on the planet are responsible for the aurora displays that have been visible as far south as the Carolinas.

Aurora forecasters at the Geophysical Institute (GI) predict maximum aurora activity until Friday, Nov. 12, and possibly into the weekend. The aurora should be visible in regions far south of the Arctic, including most of the United States, if clear skies cooperate.

Region 0696, the portion of the sun responsible for the heightened aurora activity, began erupting Saturday, Nov. 6. By Nov. 7, people began witnessing the aurora throughout the country and around the world.

"Look for the aurora from a dark place with a view of the poleward horizon in half hour intervals throughout the night," said Aurora Forecaster and Professor Emeritus of Physics Charles Deehr. "The largest activity is expected at your local midnight."

###

Check out the latest aurora forecast at: http://www.gi.alaska.edu

Sign up for aurora alerts by email at: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/mailman/listinfo/gse-aa

See a movie of the disturbances traveling between the sun and Earth at: http://gse.gi.alaska.edu/recent/javascript_movie.html

Get detailed space weather information at: http://gse.gi.alaska.edu/recent

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by University Of Alaska Fairbanks.

Related Stories

Saturn’s Secondary Aurora Is Much More Like Jupiter’s In Origin Than It Is The Earth’s (June 21, 2008) — Researchers have discovered a secondary aurora sparkling on Saturn and also started to unravel the mechanisms that drive the process. Their results show that Saturn's secondary aurora is much more ...  > read more

Scientists Look Beyond Earth To Understand Auroras (July 20, 2009) — The eerie beauty of the northern and southern lights has evoked visions of the supernatural for centuries: foxes of fire whisking their tales, the fighting souls of dead warriors or ancestors dancing ...  > read more

Surprises From The Sun's South Pole (Feb. 20, 2007) — Although very close to the minimum of its 11-year sunspot cycle, the Sun showed that it is still capable of producing a series of remarkably energetic outbursts - ESA-NASA Ulysses mission ...  > read more

Scientists Help NASA 'Follow The Sun' In Stereo (Oct. 22, 2006) — The University of Minnesota-designed and built instruments aboard the twin spacecraft of NASA's STEREO mission -- currently scheduled for launch October 25 from Cape Canaveral, Florida -- will detect ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Sun Darkens Electronics