[🌌EUROPE, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE IF YOU SEE THIS POST]
GUIDE TO HUNTING AURORAS FROM THE SUPER SOLAR STORM - ONE OF THE STRONGEST STORMS IN 20 YEARS
📖 What happened on the Sun?
About 3 days ago, at the active region AR4143, the Sun emitted an X1.9 flare – in the strongest class on the solar flare scale.
This is an area prone to ejecting coronal mass ejections (CME) directly toward Earth.
Last night, the first plasma wave hit Earth, pushing the geomagnetic storm intensity to G4 level (4/5), with Kp reaching a maximum of 9/9.
When Kp = 9, the auroras are pushed deep south, opening up observation opportunities for areas that rarely see aurora, including France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and many other European countries.
📈 Solar wind indices – truly "unreal"
• Solar wind speed: > 1,100 km/s
(about ~4 times the normal level)
• Plasma density: ~ 50 protons/cm³
• Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)
• Bz: –58 nT
• Bt: +50 nT
✨ 4 SIMPLE STEPS TO HUNT THIS SUPER STORM FULLY
- Determine the correct viewing direction
If you are at:
• Very high latitude (Lapland): tonight point the camera south or straight up high.
• Near the auroral oval (Helsinki, Tallinn, St. Petersburg): auroras may appear right overhead
• Lower latitudes (Germany, Netherlands, France): point the camera north, or angled up high
Quick way to determine: open the compass on your phone, identify the direction, then point the camera in the appropriate direction for your location.
- Determine the observation time
The Sun is releasing a very large amount of plasma, however, the magnetic field direction is the deciding factor for whether the auroras will light up or not.
Time frame to monitor: from 18:00 evening to 03:00–04:00 the next morning.
- Avoid light pollution
Tonight, the auroras are strong enough to be visible even in areas with streetlights. However, to see the colors clearly and take beautiful photos, you should still move to a sufficiently dark area.
How to determine: search for Light Pollution Map on Google to select a suitable observation spot around where you are. The farther from the auroral oval, the more important this factor is.
- Avoid cloud cover
Auroras occur at altitudes of 80–100 km, so if your area has thick clouds, the observation chance will be almost zero.
Check the cloud forecast and find a low-cloud area within your travel range, while still ensuring it's dark enough and in the right direction.
🌠 Wishing everyone success in hunting this solar super storm!
P/S:
Not just Europe – America, Australia, and many other areas around the world also have full opportunities to observe this rare phenomenon
Cre: Long Nguyen
