St Valentine Eve Northern Lights

There could be a heavenly addition to St Valentine’s day this year.

Since February 7^th the Sun has been throwing a series of CME’s (Coronal Mass Ejections) into space. A new forecast from NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) which suggests that the Earth could get hit tonight, February 13^th the eve of St Valentine.

There is also a chance that some of these CME’s will pile up and form what astronomers refer to as a Cannibal CME. This happens when one fast moving CME catches up with a slower moving CME. Cannibal CME’s contain much stronger magnetic fields that can produce powerful geomagnetic storms.

The magnetic energy from the CME’s interacts with the magnetic fields of the Earth and one of these results are the Northern Lights.

If such a pile up does occur expect to see some really good Northern Lights tonight and maybe even on St Valentine’s night itself.

If you want to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis look to the north after if gets dark.

                                                         www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk