Geomagnetic storm Auroras could soon be shining over Switzerland again
In May, auroras lit up the sky over Switzerland. A geomagnetic storm could now make the natural phenomenon visible again in this country.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A geomagnetic storm could produce auroras in more southerly climes between July 30 and mid-August.
- Whether the natural spectacle will also be visible in Switzerland cannot be predicted with certainty.
- Auroras were already visible in Switzerland in May.
The US weather agency NOAA is warning of a geomagnetic storm today, Tuesday. According to "Futurezone", the sun showed a strong eruption last weekend. Many solar particles were released and hurled towards the earth.
If the predictions are correct, auroras could be visible around the 50th parallel in particular - this is where Mainz in Germany and Prague in the Czech Republic are located. With a bit of luck, however, the northern lights could also be visible further south. However, it is impossible to predict whether Switzerland is too far south.
According to "Spaceweather.com", the so-called coronal mass ejection will arrive on Earth between July 30 and mid-August. During this period, auroras could be visible much further towards the equator than is normally the case.
Weaker storm than in May
However, space weather is very difficult to predict. Accordingly, it is not yet possible to determine on which day the chances of seeing auroras are greatest.
Auroras already lit up the sky over Switzerland in May. At that time, however, it was a particularly strong geomagnetic storm with a strength between G3 and G4 (G5 is the strongest level). The current storm is between G2 and G3.
During solar flares, charged solar particles collide with the Earth's magnetic field. This causes magnetic storms which, together with the gases in the Earth's atmosphere, produce the light effects we call auroras.