Yesterday
(Thursday) afternoon, a coronal mass ejection (CME) and a class-M solar flare
erupted from the Sun, sending material almost directly towards
Earth.
This
cloud of charged material is expected to arrive at Earth on Saturday night at
roughly 10:30pm, but conditions within the cloud and in space can possibly alter
this by a number of hours.
When
to View
When it
arrives, there is a small chance that the aurora borealis (northern lights) will
be visible from Ireland. We suggest keeping an eye on the northern sky from 6pm
on Saturday evening and throughout the night, into Sunday morning. If it
appears, the aurora will have a green and/or red colour, most likely just over
the northern horizon.
Where
to View
Ideally
it is best to watch the aurorae from a location as far north as possible, but
depending on the strength of the CME from the Sun, they can 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.