Many of us looked for the northern lights last night, but none were reported here in Michigan. NOAA's space weather division is forecasting that northern lights are more likely tonight, in areas of clear skies.
The image above is of the sun at 11:40 this morning. Notice the much brighter area just to the right of center on the sun. The is the area where a sunspot developed. The sunspot is actually a twist in the sun's magnetic field, according to Richard Walker, Astronomy Specialist at Longway Planetarium in Flint. The sunspot then causes an ejection of energy to be spit out of the sun. The bright area on the sun in this image is that energy, called a coronal mass ejection.
This ejection occurred Tuesday January 7, 2014. When the energy from this coronal mass hits the earth's magnetic field, northern lights can be produced. If the energy is strong enough, radio and satellite functions can also be disrupted.
Walker says the energy is heading toward the earth at a speed of 1.6 million miles per hour. The sun is about 93 million miles away. At that speed, the energy will make it to earth in 58 hours.
That is why spaceweather.com says that tonight will be a good night for the development of northern lights.
Will it be too cloudy in Michigan?
The short answer is it most likely will be too cloudy to see the northern lights. This is what I feared yesterday. Last night would have been a great night for northern lights, with very clear skies. The cloud cover forecast graphic shows the percentage of sky covered in clouds at 4 a.m. tonight. The numbers are too high to have good viewing of the northern lights. The sky is expected to be covered 80 percent to 100 percent with clouds.
That is the problem with living in Michigan. Cloud cover is too frequent, making the rare glimpses at the northern lights a long shot.
Is there any hope for clearing?
Base on the satellite loops, we will be socked in with clouds early tonight. If there is any chance of some clearing, it would be after 4 a.m. tonight. The computer models show me the high clouds may go away then. I still expect some low clouds. But if the low clouds could part some, there is a slim chance at clear enough skies to see any northern lights.
I wouldn't stay up late tonight since it will be too cloudy. Sleep unfortunately is a better option.
If you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, at least check the northern sky.
We probably will be watching videos and looking at pictures of the northern lights tomorrow. Those pictures and video are not the same as experiencing it with our own eyes.
There could still be some effects
Even though we may not see the northern lights, we may see and feel the effects of the coronal mass ejection. Richard Walker says if the energy from the sun is strong enough, processes that use satellites could be affected. Satellite television and satellite radio could have interference, and static. He says our gps devices also use satellite data. So our gps may not position your vehicle in the right location, and then give you wrong directions. If you are going somewhere tonight or tomorrow, and you don't know where you are going, you better go "old-school." You better take a map with you.
Mark Torregrossa has been the chief meteorologist for three television news stations in Michigan. A resident of the state for 20 years, he has also gardened since the age of ten and is an avid hunter. Email him at mark@farmerweather.com and find him on Facebook at facebook.com/mark.torregrossa and Twitter @weathermanmark
No comments:
Post a Comment