1) Oct. 7 & prior:
a)
SOLAR STORM SPARKS DEEP SOUTH AURORAS: A CME hit Earth on Oct. 6th, sparking auroras in more than twenty US states. Northern Lights were seen or photographed as far south as Kentucky, the Carolinas and Mississippi.
| Above: Auroras on Oct. 6, 2024. Photo credit: Christian Begeman of Chester, SD |
|
The storm originally was expected/predicted to be G3. However, the actual one was less strong, but still good enough for auroras etc. (for more see b) & c) below ...).
b)
"CME IMPACT SPARKS AURORAS IN THE USA: As predicted, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field on Oct 6th. At first, it seemed like
a dud. Nothing happened for hours. Then, auroras spread across more than twenty US states. "We were at the Chatham Lighthouse in Cape Cod, when the sky behind us lit up red!," reports Ray Majoran. "My friend Tom, yelled 'Northern Lights!' and we took this picture."
"They lasted brightly for about 5-10 minutes and then faded back," he says. "What a great sight to see in Cape Cod."
Auroras were also seen or photographed in
both Dakotas,
Illinois,
Missouri,
Wyoming,
Wisconsin,
Washington,
Kansas,
Virginia,
Minnesota,
Idaho,
New York,
California,
Maine,
Vermont,
Kentucky,
Mississippi,
Ohio,
Alaska,
Pennsylvania, and
North Carolina.
The CME was hurled toward Earth by a powerful X9.1-class solar flare on Oct. 3rd. Considering the size of the flare, the CME did not deliver much of a blow. The forecast was rescued by the autumnal "
Russell-McPherron effect." At this time of year, even weak CMEs can cause a geomagnetic storm.
G1- and
G2-storm conditions were observed for nearly 12 hours."
c) For [extra] related and connected phenomena to that period as well as to Oct. 8, see 3) below (especially the first part for more auroras etc., but the rest parts too for more issues etc.) ...
2)
Oct 7 - NEW X-CLASS FLARE
"
ANOTHER X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Active sunspot AR3842 erupted again on Oct. 7th (1913 UTC), producing an X2-class solar flare (
movie). Extreme UV radiation caused a shortwave radio blackout
over the Americas, and a significant CME was hurled into space. It probably has an Earth-directed component. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs."
3) Today, Tue Oct. 8, 2024
A)
"
AURORAS IN ARIZONA: Last night, Oct. 7-8, auroras spread across more than
thirty US states. The lowest latitude sighting (so far) was in the deserts of southern Arizona:
"Solar Max keeps gifting the desert southwest with auroras," says photographer Scott Tucker of Tucson, AZ. "They were faint, but we will take them! This is a 10 second exposure with my Canon 80D."
Other notable mid- to low-latitude sightings include
Virginia,
California,
Oregon,
New Mexico,
North Carolina,
Tennessee and (faintly)
Alabama.
This widespread display is the afterglow of a CME impact on Oct. 6th. Remarkably, it's not over yet. Solar wind conditions favor another night of geomagnetic storming on Oct. 8th."
B)
a) "
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: Minor (
G1) to strong (
G3) geomagnetic storms are possible today [Oct. 8] as Earth passes through the tail of a CME that struck our planet on Oct. 6th. Magnetic fields in the CME's tail are connecting to Earth's magnetic field, opening the door for solar wind to enter our planet's magnetosphere. If this continues, mid-latitude auroras may be visible for the third night in a row."
b)
"THIS CME WILL HIT EARTH AND A COMET: Active sunspot AR3842 erupted again on Oct. 7th (1913 UTC), producing an X2-class solar flare (
movie). The explosion hurled a significant CME into space. This SOHO coronagraph movie shows the CME and Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is passing between Earth and the sun today:
The CME is going to hit both the comet and Earth, in that order. The CME will strike the comet later today or perhaps early on Oct. 9th, The impact could actually rip off the comet's tail. The
same thing happened to Comet Enke in April 2007. A broken tail is something astronomers should look for when Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS emerges from the sun's glare later this week.
According to
a NASA model, the CME will graze Earth late on Oct. 9th or early on Oct. 10th. The impact could cause another strong geomagnetic storm with auroras at mid-latitudes in the USA and Europe. NOAA analysts are looking at this CME now and may soon issue a refined forecast."
------------------------
Suppl. : 1) Oct. 7 :
Planetary K-index
24-hr max:
Kp= 6.33 storm
2) Today, Oct. 8 :
Planetary K-index
Now:
Kp= 5.67 storm
24-hr max:
Kp= 7.33 storm
explanation |
more data
.
