Kansas sky could change color with Northern Lights as space storm activity increases

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – Federal weather officials say chances are looking good for people in the Midwest to see a display of the Northern Lights this week as a storm in space becomes more active.

The NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center ( SWPC ) has issued a G3 geomagnetic storm watch for July 29 to August 1. People in the U.S. may see increased aurora activity during this time with the lights becoming visible in the nighttime hours over many northern states and some of the lower Midwest region.

This alert is being prompted by several coronal mass ejection (CME) events caused by increased solar activity, according to the SWPC. Some of these ejections were directed towards Earth, bringing with them solar particles which are necessary for the formation of the Northern Lights display.

“Sun has been crackling like crazy lately with flares and coronal mass ejections,” said NASA Solar System Ambassador Brenda Culbertson. “Earth has already received some of the energy and shortwave radio blackout has occurred over Japan. If the geomagnetic activity increases as expected, the effect could reach mid latitudes, and there is potential for us in northeast Kansas to see aurora. One thing space weather has in common with terrestrial weather, and that is it is unpredictable, but scientists do the best they can.”

The SWPC’s G3 alert also hints at the possibility of more solar activity in the near future with the door open for more aurora events later in the week. However, this is dependent on several factors including how many CMEs are recorded and which direction they are pointed in when they erupt.

Kansans were last treated to an impressive and rare display of the northern lights in May when the aurora became visible over large parts of the state. This was caused by a ‘ monster sunspot ‘ which later erupted, sending a large number of solar particles towards Earth.

“The farther north a person is, the more likely they are to see the colors in the sky along the northern horizon,” Culbertson said. “The stronger the intensity of activity, the higher the colors will be seen, and they may be seen farther south.”

Culbertson recommends people wanting to capture photos of the northern lights this week find a prearranged spot to go to this week on the night of July 30-31. Cameras can sometimes pick up the colors of an aurora as they can appear very faintly. Using a 15-30 second exposure may help detect the aurora’s colors in the night sky.

Geomagnetic storms are ranked on on a scale of G1 to G5 with G5 representing the most extreme case. The May storm was ranked as a G3 but was quickly increased to a G4 as the severity of the sunspot’s eruption became apparent.

For context, the SWPC uses a scale to measure the severity of geomagnetic storms ranging from G1 to G5. A G1 storm may have a slight impact on satellite communications and weak power grid fluctuations while G5 storms have the potential to cause power grids to experience mass blackouts or complete collapse.

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