Tuesday night there is going to be what is called a solar tsunami. The solar flare was a huge explosion on the surface of the sun that sent a wave of ionized particles directly toward us. Solar flares cause solar tsunamis by making a rippling across the surface of the sun. NASA is preparing for the possibility of solar flare satellite damage. But the extreme space weather will trigger a spectacular display of northern lights.
An after effect is a solar tsunami
The solar flare erupted Sunday morning. Earth’s magnetic field caught some of the ionized atoms which were created by the tsunami and headed towards earth. Fox News reports that the solar flare should hit the planet tonight, creating a geomagnetic storm and a northern lights display of rare intensity that might be seen as far south as the U.K.. The space weather could cause solar flare satellite damage, though scientists think that possibility is remote.
Solar tsunami recorded in STEREO
NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) has said the solar flames do exist. The sun is observed by the STEREO spacecrafts, reports Wired. One spacecraft flies ahead of Earth in its orbit and one flies behind. The tandem produces a stereoscopic image of the sun that presents a three-dimensional view. In February 2009 STEREO confirmed the solar tsunami was not the shadow of a solar flare, but a 60,000-mile-high wave of super-hot plasma and magnetism blazing across the sun’s surface at 560,000 mph (see video below).
Rarity of solar flares
Solar flares such as the one in the video from Sunday are very rare. Solar flares on the sun launched to Earth at about the same time according to Telegraph. The first eruption was a very large one that ended up screwing up the Sun’s magnetic atmosphere making conditions for the second eruption very good, Dr Lucie Green told the Telegraph. A northern lights show along with a geomagnetic storm will be the result of this.
Northern lights
When the solar flares hit the Earth Tuesday, charged particles from the sun will hit the oxygen and nitrogen within the Earth’s upper atmosphere to produce the northern lights. Small bursts of energy look like light as the particles hit, reports GMTV. The color depends on what kind of gas is exploding. There colors like greenish-yellow, red, or blue depending on whether Oxygen or nitrogen is getting excited. Also seen often is purple, white and pink within these other colors.
Fox News
foxnews.com/scitech/2010/08/03/spectacular-northern-lights-signals-sun-waking/
Wired
wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/solar-tsunami/
The Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7923069/Nasa-scientists-braced-for-solar-tsunami-to-hit-earth.html
YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=bMgBt-UuUak and amp;feature=related
YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=rnqubAGgx2k and amp;feature=related
