Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
On January 14, the magnetic field lines around AR3182, one of the several sunspots presently on the Sun, erupted releasing a coronal mass ejection (CME). High-speed plasma from the Sun is currently racing across the inner Solar System toward Earth. The bulk of it will miss our planet but the wave of particles will graze our planet over the next few days.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The effects of the solar storm will be experienced mostly on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 January, but some changes in the space weather around Earth will begin to be seen on Wednesday 18. The increase of charged particles will lead to more auroral activity on all three days. In the US, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, could be visible low on the horizon as far south as Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and Boston. In Europe, they might be seen low on the horizon in the north of England and Denmark. Everywhere north of those places should get some kind of light show overhead.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the aurora australis will be visible as north as Tasmania and New Zealand's South Island. The part of Antarctica that will be experiencing nights at this time of year will get the better show.
Some high-frequency radio and GPS disruptions are also possible but the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center doesn’t have any warnings for this as yet.
