Well FINALLY something is happening, folks! ☀️ The Sun is waking up from its summer siesta and it looks like it's preparing quite a party for us. While our friends in the Arctic are enjoying the polar day and can pretty much just forget about the aurora, for us at lower latitudes and for our friends in the southern hemisphere things are looking much more interesting! 🌌 Today and tomorrow we could be hit by geomagnetic storm conditions, so pay attention! 👀
Three coronal mass ejections are heading toward Earth
Several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are hurtling toward Earth and should arrive within the next 30 hours. ⏰ Yesterday, June 3, the Sun fired off three CMEs in a row as if it were shooting from a triple-barreled cannon. All three have an Earth-directed component, so it looks like a direct hit! 🎯
And now the numbers for all the geeks out there. The first solar flare was class M9.3 (full halo), the second class M7.7 (partial halo), and the third was even an X1.0 (partial halo). 💥 All three were eruptive in nature and spewed a hefty dose of charged particles into space that should arrive late this evening (June 4) and tomorrow, June 5. 🚀
The source of these eruptions is sunspot 4455, which was positioned directly facing Earth at the time of the blasts. 🌍 As if the Sun literally looked at us and said: "This one's for you, little Earthlings!" 😏
What does this mean for the aurora?
Individually, these weren't any monstrous ejections, but together it's a whole different story. ☕ Their combined effect could, according to NOAA SWPC, push us up to the G3 geomagnetic storm level, which is Kp7! 🔥🔥🔥 And that's already a level at which the aurora can show itself at lower latitudes, which under ideal conditions could mean a chance even for us in Slovakia! 🇸🇰✨
The effects of the CMEs should start to weaken on June 6, unless the Sun sends us another surprise package in the meantime. 🎁 But you know how it is; once the Sun gets going, it tends to be generous. 😄
So, cameras ready? 📸 Follow ziara.sk, where I'll let you know as soon as things start getting interesting! I'll be there with a beer in hand and a shot of juniper brandy in reserve, as befits a proper astronomer from Šírava. 🍺🌲
Keep your fingers crossed for me and most importantly; eyes up to the sky! 🙌💜🌠
Your Astronomer Cassandra ✨
