Early Wednesday morning, people in the northern USA were able to see the effects of the solar flares storm and solar tsunami light up the sky; the northern lights will continue tonight in North America from Oregon to Maine and north to Canada.
About every 11 years a solar flare storm kicks up from the sun and a few days later the effects appear in our skies. If the sky is clear it should be visible from North America, Northern Europe and Russia. The result is a beautiful show of the northern lights in various colors in the sky.
NASA has said that as a result some satellites may be knocked out during the solar tsunami, but it isn’t expected.
NASA describes a solar flare as:
A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time! The first solar flare recorded in astronomical literature was on September 1, 1859. Two scientists, Richard C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson, were independently observing sunspots at the time, when they viewed a large flare in white light.
A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time! The first solar flare recorded in astronomical literature was on September 1, 1859. Two scientists, Richard C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson, were independently observing sunspots at the time, when they viewed a large flare in white light.
To see a slideshow of photos of the solar flares storm on the sun, and photos of the northern lights, click here.
See the video below for the solar flares storm on the sun.
See the video below for the solar flares storm on the sun.
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Sources: NASA and the Times
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Continue reading on Examiner.com: Solar tsunami continues tonight August 4, 2010 and beautiful colors light up the sky (photos, video) - National US Headlines | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/us-headlines-in-national/solar-tsunami-continues-tonight-august-4-2010-and-beautiful-colors-light-up-the-sky-photos-video#ixzz1CyUKAmKM
