BY KENNETH MCDONAGH, DONEGAL WEATHER CHANNEL
NORTHERN LIGHT WILL BE IN DONEGAL SKIES TONIGHT GEOMAGNETIC STORM IS UNDERWAY HIGH KP LEVELS OF 6.67 STORM LEVEL
Polar geomagnetic storms are underway following the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 7th at approximately 0400 UT. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.
Shortly after the CME impact, a burst of Northern Lights appeared over the US-Canadian border. Shawn Malone photographed the display from the shores of Lake Superior
MAJOR SOLAR FLARE 7/3/12
Big sunspot AR1429 has unleashed another major flare. This one is the strongest yet, an X5-class eruption on March 7th at 00:28 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme UV flash
This eruption hurled a bright CME into space, shown here in a movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Although the CME is not squarely Earth-directed, it appears direct enough to deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on March 8-9. This would add to the magnetic unrest already underway at high latitudes.
The flare also accelerated energetic protons toward Earth, triggering an S3-class solar radiation storm, in progress. Such a storm is mainly a nuisance to satellites, causing occasional reboots of onboard computers and adding noise to imaging systems.
WEATHER
Showers forecast for tonight but clearing around midnight. If current weather patterns persist it could be a good night over Co Donegal.
