Astronomy North Society

Heyyyyy. So it’s not exactly aurora season in the North rn, but anyone who is up late tonight could be in for a colourful show! 🤩

The first of multiple Earth-directed CME blasts from the Sun is due to arrive before midnight tonight and according to NOAA’s latest global geomagnetic forecast we can expect one of the fastest-moving, high-density gusts of solar wind in decades to sweep past Earth followed soon after by multiple waves of additional CMEs overnight.

So what does THAT mean? It means a really good chance of vibrant Northern Lights across the North and across Canada in the hours following impact tonight. So if you're out late, stop reading this post and look up dammit!☝️😁

🎯NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Centre is warning of a possible G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm, which is relatively high level of magnetic turbulence…the kind of turbulence that causes the auroral oval to push south sparking active displays of Northern Lights across Canada and the northern US for hours, before returning to the skies above YT NT NU.

These events are not dangerous, though they may result in enough induced current to trigger alarms on power grids and numerous companies will make adjustments to satellites…and perhaps there will be some disruptions to satellite-based tech overnight, but events like this have happened before, we’re still here, no need to panic lol.

Instead, if you’re up late, point your camera and/or your phone upwards and see if you can capture some elusive RED auroras! When there’s an event of this magnitude the colours can be spectacular, and there is an elevated probability of highly energetic particles sparking beautiful red auroras, especially at the onset of the show.

Red auroras are quite difficult to see with the naked eye, but cameras can really show the glow.📸 When you see reds it’s an indication that high altitude atomic oxygen is interacting with incoming electrons and protons, generally between 200km - 500km above the Earth.

Anyway if you live in the North and the skies are still dark enough to see some stars where u live, it means u may be seeing some cool colours tonight.

If you’re in Southern Canada, watch for lights above the northern horizon after midnight, with possible active periods overhead in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Take lots of pics and have fun!🤩

A few resources for my fellow nerds:

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/wsa-enlil-solar-wind-prediction

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/media-advisory-noaa-forecasts-severe-solar-storm-media-availability-scheduled-friday-may-10

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-geomagnetic-forecast

Great news, northern skywatchers!!! IS BACK!!! Cameras are now rolling and Season 14 is officially under way, thanks for your patience and all of your messages! It shows us you're watching, and a sign that this great project is making a difference!!! Seriously, awesome to be back!!! 🥹😎

A huge thank you to the University of Calgary team for the latest upgrades, FB posts and Tweets, and stay tuned – there's lots more to come from all of our AuroraMAX partners as we launch Season 14 and continue our efforts to monitor the intensity and frequency of the Northern Lights above Yellowknife, NWT! 👍

Too connect tonight, check out the new look at www.auroramax.com or you can keep watching live on www.astronomynorth.com after dark, and don't forget to check the daily aurora forecast for your community during the day!

Plus, starting this season Astronomy North will be issuing alerts on this page when there are active auroras in the forecast for Northern Canada or when something awesome is happening on the live feed!

Plus, we're also launching live Astronomy North Nowcasts on YouTube during geomagnetic storms, the Kp3 Podcast returns, the Northern Lighthouses are back online and we're forming a new Citizen Science Working Group for the North...and more! Ya...all that!!! Fun and free knowledge exchange....explore more, learn more...it's gonna be great!

Join us for the live feed every night after sunset! Let us know when you see something incredible!!! 😃

AURORA FORECAST / FEB 5, 2022
YELLOWKNIFE, NT

Tonight's aurora forecast for Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: Mostly quiet this evening with active periods near midnight. Watch for auroras above the northern horizon and overhead. Max KP=4

www.astronomynorth.com/aurora-forecast/