10
May
2024
The Northern Lights Seen ss Far South as Florida.
FLORIDA --
History is taking place tonight as the aurora northern lights is currently being seen as far south as Florida.
"Northern lights are beginning to be seen all over the United States, as far south as Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Peak of the charged protons and electrons will cause MAX effect of the lights between 11PM EDT / 10PM CDT and 5AM EDT / 4AM CDT. Emphasis around midnight", says FOX 35 Meteorologist Noah Bergren.
According to Spaceweather.gov, the United States is expecting to experience an "Extreme G5 Geomagnetic Storm Threshold", which means there are expected to be "widespread" power-grid outages, loss of GPS and internet signals and telecommunications and radio transmissions. This is the first time since 1989 and 2003 since Florida has seen the powerful auroras.
Space.com says "The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field protects us from the onslaught.
As Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles — there are southern lights, too, which you can read about below — the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike."
''It's a Faint Red Sky Tonight"
Viewers from all over the State have reported red skies tonight. The Auroras colors can vary depending on the exact weather conditions.
Generally, it takes just eight minutes for light to travel 93 million miles from the Sun to the Earth, but astrophysicist Janna Levin said the energized particles causing the current wave of aurora travel a lot slower, causing the phenomenon to last for the weekend.
"Some of these mass ejections are trillions of kilograms," she said. "They're slower. So, they're taking longer, but still hours, maybe tens of hours."
