New Year Sale DVD Membership Shop 1. Aurora Alert Following a massive X5-class solar flare on the Sun yesterday, Earth is expected to be hit by the resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) today. This cloud of energised gas is expected to trigger auroral displays all over the world, including Ireland, throughout Thursday night and Friday morning, March 8th/9th. When to View There is a significant chance that the aurora borealis (northern lights) will be visible from Ireland. We suggest keeping an eye on the northern sky throughout Thursday evening and into Friday morning. If it appears, the aurora will have a faint glow and if the activity is particularly strong it may have a green and/or red colour. The aurora will most likely be visible just over the northern horizon, but a strong display can result in the aurora being visible all over the sky. Where to View Ideally it is best to watch the aurorae from a location as far north as possible, but considering on the strength of this particular CME from the Sun, they may be visible further south. We recommend picking anywhere that has a dark sky with a clear northern horizon. This can be a location just outside a town or city, or a dark parkland area. Report Your Observation If you see the aurora borealis, please let us know what you saw by emailing observe@astronomy.ie. We will aim to include reports and photographs in an upcoming issue of Astronomy & Space. As geomagnetic storms can affect radio communications we also welcome reports from amateur radio operators. 2. Public Lecture: "Seeing Solar Storms from Ireland" The solar flare and upcoming northern lights come in advance of Astronomy Ireland's March Public Lecture, Seeing Solar Storms from Ireland, which will be delivered by top solar astronomer, Dr Peter Gallagher, on Monday, March 12th at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin. Dr Gallagher is helping develop the Irish section of a European-wide radio telescope called LOFAR. This amazing project will allow scientists to study the Sun and its solar flares to give us a better understanding of how we can protect our satellites and communications systems from these potentially harmful outbursts. To book tickets or to order DVDs of this lecture, please visit www.astronomy.ie Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )