Sunday, August 1 a solar flares storm began and triggered a coronal mass ejection, and it is expected to hit the earth Tuesday and Wednesday night, August 3 and 4, 2010 and light up the northern skies. Northern states (Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, etc.) in the US should be able to see the lights in the sky weather permitting. A solar flare is large explosion in the sun’s atmosphere that releases energy.
According to Wikipedia, “Solar activity varies with an 11-year cycle (the solar cycle). At the peak of the cycle there are typically more sunspots on the Sun, and hence more solar flares.”
NASA describes a solar flare as:
A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time! The first solar flare recorded in astronomical literature was on September 1, 1859. Two scientists, Richard C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson, were independently observing sunspots at the time, when they viewed a large flare in white light.
See the two NASA videos below that show what the solar flares look like.
Scroll down to see incredible photos of the solar flares storms and the bright lights it creates in the sky.
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Sources: NASA and Wikipedia
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Comments
is this like.. for real? OÖ
AND THE SKY WILL ROLL AWAY AS A SCROLL...REVELATIONS
Yes Tanya, this kinda thing happens pretty often especially towards the peak of a solar storm cycle, which was at a solar minimum in 2006 and a solar maximum in 2012
will this effect humanity in any way? hurt us meaning.
Will It effect us in any way? Will there be an electrical outage for a long time?
No, it didn't hurt us. It just made the sky look magicial for a few nights. :)
to arkady: no, but if you are in one of the northern states and the skies are clear tonight...the sky should be beautiful. :)
AND THE SKY WILL ROLL AWAY AS A SCROLL...REVELATIONS
Revelations what(6:8)? Revelations is a big book. Give some reference.
ultimateman says:
AND THE SKY WILL ROLL AWAY AS A SCROLL...REVELATIONS
What a stupid comment.
This happens all the time. Where do you think the aurora borealis (northern lights) and the aurora australis (southern lights) comes from?
It's fine to believe, but don't post stupid crap all over the place that has nothing to do with the current event.
Saw it last night in Connecticut at about 1:30 a.m. Never have I seen anything like this. Was uncertain at first what it was! So surreal and beautiful. Probably will never see the likes of it again. Had a hard time believing what I was seeing.
mate it's best you no what your talking about before you talk! the current solar minimum moving towards solar maximum is probably the largest we have experienced since we started to rely on electronic communications ect! a large solar storm could shut down the power grid for months cutting all communications except radio which propergation is increased, could you picture your city plunged into 3 months of darkness without phone communications! I think we could become the main problem to ourselves!
sorry shane was meant for jessi!
solar flares august 3 and 4th 2010 .. no one speaks of the time it will start? will we see it in the north area like Connecticut? & New york? what time ??
Time for some research! This event has been described by NASA as a solar tsunami, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) A C3 storm? A significant CME can and would wipe out communication (I guess that is why my cell phone and Sirius radio have not been working well lately). Honestly, we will only be told how severe this storm is by the info given to us by NASA. In 1859 the storm fried telegraph lines and affected the primitive infrastructure of the time. Today, we rely to much on our technology. A significant event could shut the power grid down and kill cell phones causin many of you to stare at your devices like zombies. You should make some plans, even minor preparations to ease yourselves into a new reality if and when a major event occurs.
Yes, it's for real... it will not affect the average person much though... probably just some electronics acting up and stuff like that..
we gona die!!!!!!!!
notice nobody is saying how powerful this flare is
Did anyone see anything yet around/above philly?
im in indiana right now. its wednesday august 4th 12:04 am and i can see the lights in the north. pretty amazing. very scary...
well i see nothing in MI so far and its 12:31pm right now all most 1:00pm hop i see it if not o well
srry realy tired am
anyone see anything in Flint MI? its 12;35 an how long do it last?
did any one see anything a
/ last
im in alpena MI and i dint see nothing yet
can u see it in san diego
no one else find it disconcerting that wikipedia is being cited as a source? and before nasa too?
well i be leave i missed it cuz i have a clear view of the north sky and ive seen nothing sigh U.U
My brother and I seen What looked like fire dancing in the sky, it would go in the clouds then come back, like the size of a full moon, but misshapen. was it the lights? Even if it wasn't it was the most incredible thing we seen. it also moved and reshaped itself a lot. Southern New Hampshire.
I'm in Toronto Ontario Canada here haven't seen nothin yet anyone have a clue what time this shows suppose to begin?
havent seen nothing here im alpena Michigan except a bright clear sky
srry 4 the rest of the world but i dont thing u pple are going to see them ive been in and out looking for it and nothing so i think its all over U.U i dint even see it.
We had southern lights here in melbourne australia last week! never seen that before!!!!
Been sitting out here for hours really hope it's worth not sleeping for!
it onlysopose to be visible in the nortwest of north america
its11:09 now illment later
i heard it's not suppose to start until around 12am pacific time which is 25 minutes from now
Where did you hear that from? Where are you located Marilyn?
wont see anything in TN will I?
im in eastern oregon, heard it from a radio station out of portland. im in a really dark place, have only seen a few meteors so far and satelites
they say it can last for about 4 hours so if its still dark you might see something
I am north of Toronto and haven't seen a thing yet. I was really hoping to see something :-(
they say it can last for about 4 hours so if its still dark you might see something
My brother and I seen What looked like fire dancing in the sky, it would go in the clouds then come back, like the size of a full moon, but misshapen. was it the lights? Even if it wasn't it was the most incredible thing we seen. it also moved and reshaped itself a lot. Southern New Hampshire.
ive posted some photos on my ellerge account. go to ellerge.com, and search tom456.
will we see it from england?
can we see it in india tonight???
can we see it in india tonight???
My brother and I were leaving for work when i saw what looked like a comet going straight up and then sort or evaporated into a green misty looking cloud..followed by a an orange looking mist. It was the most amazing site I have ever seen!! Awesome!!
I saw a colored cloud that looked like a penis. no lie.
can v see its effect in india
It's 7:51 now, VERY overcast & smokey from mountain fires here in Oregon, hope to be able to see something out tonight>???
I'm in NC and I'm seeing heat lightning like I've never seen it! 11:15 PM Aug 4, 2010
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