On October 10, the northern end of the upper hemisphere, including the northern U.S. and Canada, was treated to a stunning display of the northern lights. As soon as the sun set, a brilliant reddish-pink saturated the night sky. It was a battle between the aurora, cloud cover, and the moon in its first quarter— the biggest source of light pollution. In Sackville, the Mt. A campus was flooded with students taking advantage of the rare event. Ground school was temporarily put on hold, and the Dunn Building courtyard was full of excited aviation students. Ronnie Sawyer, a second-year aviation student, remarked “our entire ground school class went outside to see the northern lights before class even ended! I’m so glad our instructor let us see them!” Groups flocked to Waterfowl Park to escape the street lights on campus and around town. Just as quickly as the northern lights appeared, they began to dim and students went back home to get on with their midterm preparation. However, those who stuck around were treated to another beautiful show a couple hours later, with the lights resurging with green pillars.
For those in the same area this past May 10, an equally stunning aurora borealis event occurred, with the strongest geomagnetic storm since 1989. As a result of the solar storm, the active region of the aurora borealis was far larger than usual from May 10 to 11. Based on the impact of a 1989 solar storm that knocked out power in Québec for nine hours, BC Hydro and Hydro-Québec took precautions. However, neither company had any issues with the May solar storm. The solar storm on October 10 was less severe than the one in May, with a rating of G4 rather than G5.
Solar storms, also known as geomagnetic storms, are measured in a very similar way to the Saffir Simpson scale; the same scale that determines hurricane categories based on their average wind speed. Geomagnetic storms, on the other hand, range from minor to severe, denoted by G1 to G5. These types of storms occur when an explosion from the sun directs plasma and magnetic fields towards the Earth. Although it may sound scary, there is no way for solar storms to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, therefore, humans cannot be physically affected. The only effect severe solar storms can have is high-voltage communications and electrical systems. The aurora borealis is a result of the magnetic field from the sun’s explosion shifting closer to Earth. Once these particles make contact with Earth’s atmosphere, their atoms begin to glow.
The reason for the increase in northern lights this year is because of the sun’s rotation. Every 11 years, the sun completes a full rotation around its axis. Currently, the sun’s most active zone of solar eruptions is in line with the Earth. Scientists predict this is just the beginning, with many months of solar activity to come before the sun’s hot spots ‘phase out.’ With two major viewing nights in the past five months and the sun’s current position, there’s plenty more aurora activity waiting to happen.
