In September, due to the tilt of the Earth, geomagnetic activity can intensify, resulting in a spectacular aurora season, according to Live Science.
The aurora occurs when charged particles in the solar wind enter the Earth’s magnetic field and collide with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere, exciting those molecules and causing them to emit vibrant colors of light.
Aurora. (Photo: Getty).
On May 10 at 11 PM (Hanoi time), when the first plasma and magnetic field erupted from the Sun, social media was flooded with images of auroras from Northern Europe and Oceania, as reported by AFP citing the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
With solar activity continuing to rise to record levels in September, a few weeks around the autumn equinox (September 22) could witness stronger than normal geomagnetic storms. This could lead to a brief aurora season, according to Live Science.
A study published in 1973 suggests that auroras occur more regularly in March and September, due to the temporary alignment of the Earth’s magnetic fields and the solar wind.
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles from the Sun, which suddenly intensifies following solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — powerful bursts of solar radiation and material. Solar magnetic activity follows an 11-year cycle and is currently peaking.
While the Earth’s magnetic field and the solar wind typically do not align, the Russell-McPherron effect causes the Earth’s magnetic poles to tilt towards the equinox points, allowing charged particles to enter more easily. When the southward magnetic fields within the solar wind cancel out the northward magnetic field of the Earth, cracks open in the Earth’s magnetosphere, allowing the solar wind to flow more easily along the magnetic field lines. Consequently, areas in the Northern Hemisphere have a higher chance of witnessing auroras in September.
