Here are three things to know about a geomagnetic storm on the sun that may make the Northern Lights visible from southern Ontario overnight Friday into Saturday.
We posed these questions to Elaina Hyde, assistant professor in York University’s department of physics and astronomy and the director of its , who said that “aurora are a popular phenomenon and well worth checking out if visible. The key thing to note is that although we can see the activity (on the sun), we can only make rough predictions because there is always some variability once it impacts our atmosphere.”
1. So what is going on with the sun?
EH: On Thursday, the first severe G4 ‘Geomagnetic Storm Watch’ since January 2005 was issued. There were at least five coronal mass ejections, or major solar events (a large burst of plasma that comes off the sun), that were listed as ‘Earth-directed’ and thought to have a chance of impacting. On Thursday there were several strong flares as well as a sunspot cluster about 16 times greater than the diameter of the Earth (which would have been just barely visible if you were using safe solar viewing glasses of the same type that we used during the April 8 eclipse).
2. How normal or unique is this?
EH: Due to the current activity on the sun, as part of its normal solar cycle, we expect it to be a bit more active. The  (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)  (in the U.S) has issued a ‘geomagnetic storm watch’ due to the event on the sun. It’s worth noting that our current solar cycle has only had three ‘severe’ geomagnetic storms, one in March 2024, one in October 2003 and the current one. The October 2003 storm resulted in power outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa. The rating for solar events goes from ‘minor’ G1 events to ‘major’ G5 events, so a G4 is near the top of the scale but not as big as the famous 1989 Quebec event which had a rating of about G5.
3. Will we get to see the northern lights this far south?
EH: The aurora forecast is currently showing there is a chance of aurora activity in the next few days. This means that charged particles from the sun will be impacting Earth’s geomagnetic field. How much activity and exactly were it will reach is as yet unknown but the night of May 10 is currently expected to be our best chance here in the northern hemisphere. Aurora have been known to be visible even in Toronto under similar circumstances, but with the terrible light pollution in the city it is recommended to go to rural areas or dark sky preserves for the best views. We will also need clear skies which is always a gamble in Ontario at this time of year. To check the ‘aurora forecast’ I recommend . Toronto is inside the ‘view line’, which means we have a chance.
For more information, plus viewing times across Canada, Hyde recommended Ìý´Ú°ù´Ç³¾ .
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