Northern Lights Now – Space weather forecasters are predicting 3 days of active aurora conditions. NLN is activating the live blog. We’ll aim to update a couple times a day, or as warranted, so check back often
NLN Live Blog Update – Fri, Sept 27, 02:15 UTC (23:15 EST 10/26)
Live blog time: 74h 15m
We’re calling it. This storm is over. Solar wind speeds have dropped back below 500 km/s. This storm netted two periods of G1 storming. Thank you for tacking it with NLN!
NLN Live Blog Update – Thurs, Sept 26, 13:30 UTC (10:30 EST 10/26)
Live blog time: 61h 30m
The Magnetosphere is now starting to rattle a bit. Bz has sustatined a negative orientation for over 6 hours. This is conducive to aurora and geomagnetic activity. KP has been between 4 and 5 for several hours now. If this continues, G1 is almost certain and G2 is possible.
In the DSCOVR wind chart below, the red bar shows that Bz has been negative for over 6 hours, the two blue bars show that wind speeds have been > 500 km/s for over 48 hours.
NLN Live Blog Update – Thurs, Sept 26, 03:15 UTC (23:15 EST 10/25)
Live blog time: 51h 15m
It has been quiet today on the aurora front. Total magnetic fields (Bt) have stayed relatively weak for ranging between 4 and 6 nT, and Bz has been variable. With no prolonged periods of strong Bz south, there has been very little aurora activity. There was one period of G1 storming today and no periods of G2.
Solar wind speeds are still elevated at around 600 km/s and there could be a prolonged period of Bz south at any point, but with each passing hour it is less likely. Today’s busted storm watch goes to show that we need more data from additional satellites to do a really good job of forecasting geomagnetic activity.
Despite the low activity, some aurora reports for the higher latitudes are coming in:
#NorthernLights from Reykjavik #Auroraborealis #Wednesday @TweetAurora @TamithaSkov @NorthLightAlert @TweetAurora @StormHour @AuroraNotify pic.twitter.com/QHwMivMF6e
— jf martin (@frenchscotjeff) October 25, 2017
Last night #kiruna @Aurora_Zone @B_Ubiquitous @STFAbisko @AuroraSkyStn #aurora #Northernlights #love #Sweden #lapland #wild #campadventure pic.twitter.com/CNOZgJvBN1
— CampAdventure (@adventureKiruna) October 25, 2017
NLN Live Blog Update – Tue, Sept 25, 03:15 UTC (23:15 EST 10/24)
Live blog time: 27h 15m
Solar winds have continued to increase over the last 6 hours and are now in the 600 km/s range with a brief peak above 625 km/s. There was a period of about an hour where Bz was predominantly negative and it produced a period of G1 storming. So far this nearly exactly confirms the posted watch for 10/24. Wing KP models also registered a short term prediction of KP=5.67 for around 02:00 UTC, but this was not measured on the ground. Here is the chart of the measured KPs so far for this storm:
NLN Live Blog Update – Tue, Sept 24, 16:15 UTC (12:15 EST 10/24)
Live blog time: 16h 15m
Earth has now entered the high speed wind stream. Solar wind speeds are now registering around 525 km/s after being around 350 km/s just 6 hours ago. Those should increase to over 600 km/s in the next 12 hours. Geomag activity is already responding, KP values have increased to just above 4. There are still several hours before it will reach G1 storming levels.
NLN Live Blog Update – Tue, Sept 24, 11:15 UTC (07:15 EST 10/24)
Live blog time: 11h 15m
Have you been watching the density after the last update? It has increase to around 40 p/cm3. It’s very likely solar wind speeds will increase in the near future.
NLN Live Blog Update – Tue, Sept 24, 04:00 UTC (00:00 EST 10/24)
Live blog time: 04h 00m
No sign of the expected solar wind yet. The first signs it is on it’s way will be that the proton density rises as earth enters the co-rotating interaction region (CIR). That sounds uber-technical, but all it means is that there are two streams of solar wind moving towards earth at different speeds. At the place they meet, there is a region where they interact. It means we know there is a period of fast solar wind coming when the proton density measured at DSCOVR increases. For now, Density is at nearly background levels around 5 p/cm3
NLN Live Blog Update – Tue, Sept 24, 00:00 UTC (20:00 EST 10/23)
Live blog time: 00h 00m
The NLN live blog is activated. We’ll bring news and updates about the predicted solar storm over the next 3-4 days. Here is the current three day auroraCast clock showing G1 predictions on Oct 24 and 26 sandwiching G2 forecasts for OCt 25.
