NOAA issues strong geomagnetic storm watch monday
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a strong geomagnetic storm watch for Monday evening, raising the chances of northern lights across parts of the United States.
The alert follows an M8.1-class solar flare released by the sun on Saturday afternoon. The resulting full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to reach Earth on the evening of December 8, potentially causing periods of G3 (strong) geomagnetic storming, according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The flare originated from the same sunspot region responsible for a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm in November. Within a span of two hours, the region produced both an M1.1 and an M8.1 flare, with the latter appearing more powerful and directed toward Earth.
Aurora photographer Vincent Ledvina noted that the CME is forecast to arrive around 05:00 UTC on December 9, which corresponds to Monday night in North America. He added that CME arrival estimates carry an uncertainty window of about seven hours.
The watch comes as several active sunspots rotate into Earth’s line of sight. A strong geomagnetic storm also affected the planet last week due to a combination of a coronal hole high-speed stream and the edge of an X1.9-class CME.
If the aurora extends farther south, photographers are advised to use long exposure settings and keep ISO levels between 1600–3200 for optimal results.
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