Solar flare causes Northern Lights to appear across the world
Footage released from NASA shows the flare erupting from the Sun - the European Space Agency say these eruptions can have the energy of 100 nuclear bombs.
news.sky.comHere’s the latest I can share about solar flares and the northern lights.
- The northern lights (aurora borealis) are most likely to be visible at high latitudes when a solar flare sends charged particles toward Earth, causing geomagnetic activity. Recent major flares have historically shifted aurora visibility toward lower latitudes for short windows, including parts of the U.S. and Europe. [citation needed]
- For observers in São Paulo, Brazil (tropical latitude), sightings are extremely unlikely under normal conditions, because auroras are typically confined to high latitudes near the Arctic. Exceptional events can occasionally produce visible auroras at much lower latitudes, but such occurrences are rare and often depend on strong, earth-directed coronal mass ejections and favorable geomagnetic conditions. [citation needed]
What I can offer you now
- If you want, I can monitor and summarize credible space weather sources (e.g., NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, space-related news outlets) for upcoming aurora alerts and CME impacts, and translate that into practical viewing chances for your location. [citation needed]
- I can also provide a quick viewing checklist if there is a promising aurora forecast: check local clear-sky conditions, monitor magnetic activity indices (Kp index 5+ suggests auroras at higher latitudes), and choose a dark site away from light pollution.
Would you like me to keep an eye on space weather updates and alert you when there’s a credible chance of aurora visibility from São Paulo, or would you prefer a short explainer on how solar flares drive the aurora and why visibility varies by location?