In good news for Vancouver skywatchers and bad news for Earth’s magnetic field, particles from a solar storm are heading to Earth, which could lead to a brilliant Aurora Borealis display.
The potential sky show is thanks to a coronal mass ejection or CME.
This past Monday, scientists noticed a large active region on the Sun, now named AR 3559, which released “an immense cloud of charged solar particles put out into space.”
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Pictures taken from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory show how massive the coronal ejection actually is.
NASA/ESA
Regarding the probability of seeing the Aurora Borealis in Vancouver or around BC, Geomagnetic Storm Watch only expects a minor storm.
The Weather Network has a map of how far a minor storm can be seen. A G1 is considered minor and could be seen in parts of the BC Interior, but there’s a chance of a G2, which means it’s more likely that Vancouver skywatchers might have the opportunity to see the spectacle.
“If the geomagnetic storm occurs during the day for Canada, any displays that do appear will be centred over northern Russia and northern Europe. However, if the timing of the storm is later than expected, the effects persist until nightfall, or the storm reaches G2 or higher levels, aurora chasers across Canada should keep an eye on the northern sky,” The Weather Network states.
The Weather Network
Tonight’s forecast will also play a role, and thankfully, things are looking pretty good in Vancouver tonight, with partly cloudy skies clearing up in the early evening.
The rest of the weekend looks pretty great weather wise too, and while things will get warm, it won’t be as hot as it’s been this past week.
The Weather Network