Northern Lights Over Vancouver

If you were in the Lower Mainland tonight, chances are you caught the amazing fiery sunset that streaked through the clouds above. However according to my friend Duane Storey, we could be in for a lot more in the skies tonight and early tomorrow morning. He has contributed the following post:

It’s pretty rare for the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) to be seen as far south as Vancouver, but it has happened occasionally in the past. Usually it is the result of unusual solar activity such as a massive solar flare. One such solar flare occurred in November of 2003, and registered as an X28 — amazingly powerful.

The magnetic field of the resultant solar explosion ended up enhancing the magnetic activity of the earth, and caused the aurora to go as far south as Mexico.

2003 – Northern Lights in Vancouver. Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr.

A geomagnetic storm is currently underway that is predicted to cause the aurora to be visible as far south as Seattle. To keep track of the status of the aurora, visit spaceweather.com and view the current pictorial representation in the sidebar to check on the status.

It’s pretty rare for the aurora to be visible this far south, so try and get out to see it if you can. It should make an appearance a few hours after midnight tonight. If you spot the Northern Lights be sure to take a photo if you can and consider sharing it with the Miss604 Flickr Pool.