2024/05/12 06:00 Weather News
Magnetic storms have been observed since yesterday, May 11th (Saturday) due to the influence of large-scale solar flares and CMEs (coronal mass ejections) that have occurred multiple times since May 8th (Wednesday).
On the night of the 11th (Saturday), there were a number of reports that aurora borealis could be observed in northern Japan and Hokuriku. Apparently there were places in Hokkaido where it was barely visible to the naked eye.
For Weather News, we received the cooperation of the Nayoro Municipal Observatory Kitasubaru in Hokkaido to install a temporary high-sensitivity live camera broadcast. Anyone can watch it on YouTube.
Multiple solar flares
The sun constantly emits not only electromagnetic waves and light, but also particles in a plasma state. This flow, called the solar wind, is largely displaced by Earth’s magnetosphere.
When flares, CMEs, etc. occur, the solar wind turns into a storm, which can distort the Earth’s magnetosphere. On the ground, it is observed as a magnetic storm, and an increase in plasma particles enters the atmosphere in polar regions through gaps in the magnetosphere.
Auroras are light emitted when plasma particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere. Auroras are usually seen in areas with latitudes higher than 60 degrees, but during geomagnetic storms, phenomena such as auroras and “SAR arcs” can be observed even at lower latitudes.
Large-scale solar flares/CMEs have been observed multiple times from May 8th (Wednesday) to today, the 11th (Saturday), and for several days from around the 11th (Saturday) when the solar wind arrives, A magnetic storm is expected to occur.
Observing the aurora borealis in Europe and America
A low-latitude aurora was observed on Saturday the 11th (Japan time). Aurora observations have been reported in areas around 50 degrees north latitude in Europe such as the United Kingdom, and in areas south of 45 degrees north latitude on the American continent in North America.
Conversely, in high latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere such as Alaska, the sky does not become pitch black during the night from May to August, making this season not suitable for observing aurora borealis.
Low latitude aurora observed in Japan
As this magnetic storm continues, there are areas in Japan where low-latitude aurora can be seen.
The aurora seen in Japan was of the type where the low sky in the north was dyed a thin red to pink color. Reports have been received of successful observations from Tohoku and Hokuriku using high-sensitivity cameras.
There have also been reports that a faint pink aurora can be seen with the naked eye in Hokkaido.
There is a possibility that it will be observable for the next few days, but the weather will deteriorate over a wide area of Japan until tomorrow, the 13th (Monday), so observation conditions will deteriorate.
» Pinpoint weather forecast
Photo: Weather Report (posted from the Weather News app)