As a G4 geomagnetic storm unfurled curtains of aurora across the night skies north of us this week, a less visible drama was also underway. On Monday, Jan. 19, Earth felt the strongest solar radiation storm since 2003. From a sudden rupture on the sun, charged particles were hurled outward at near-relativistic speeds, crossing the 93-million-mile dark in minutes to under an hour. Some slipped through Earth’s magnetic guard, sliding along invisible lines toward the poles, where they vanished into the upper air, a reminder that we orbit not a lamp but a restless, convulsing star.
While
these magnetic events can be disruptive to satellites and the power grid, they
are also beautiful to behold, triggering a mad dance of colorful northern
lights. Last night, we witnessed another display thanks to the geomagnetic
storm. I missed the most intense colors by a minute or two, but managed an
image of Desiree on the deck watching the storm. Please note, the strange
object in the upper left is a wind sculpture hanging from the overhang of the
house, not a UFO.
—Mitchell
Hegman
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