M-Class Solar Flare Blast Headed Toward Earth

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A powerful flare erupted from the sun Thursday (Jan. 19), unleashing a plasma wave that may supercharge the northern lights for skywatchers in high latitudes this weekend.

The solar flare occurred at about 11:30 am EST (1600 GMT) and touched off a massive solar explosion — known as a coronal mass ejection — aimed at Earth, space weather experts and officials said. The charged particles from the sun explosion should reach Earth by Saturday night (Jan. 21), and could amp up northern lights displays when they hit the upper atmosphere.

“Forecasters say strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives during the late hours of Jan. 21st. High-latitude (and possibly middle-latitude) sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend,” the skywatching website Spaceweather.com announced in an alert.

Several space telescopes recorded photos and video of the solar flare, including NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

M-class flares are capable of causing brief radio blackouts near the poles as well as minor radiation storms, but it’s unlikely that this one will disrupt communication or power transmission networks. The forecast would be different if it were an X-class storm heading our way. As the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle in 2013 or so, we can expect to see more powerful solar outbursts.

To keep tabs on the prospects for northern (or southern) lights, check SpaceWeather.com as well as the University of Alaska’s Aurora Forecast website. The higher your latitude, the better your chances of seeing the lights. If you miss them, never fear: SpaceWeather.com will surely update its January aurora gallery over the weekend. And if you snag a great picture that you’d like to share, pass it along via the Cosmic Log Facebook page.

Many thanks to SpaceRip for the video and Space.com and MSNBC for parts of the story. Photo courtesy of NASA/SDO/GSFC

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Shawn Dayco

Shawn lives and works in Los Angeles. He loves MadMike'sAmerica and is looking forward to writing for us. He has several advanced degrees in journalism.

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