CME will likely hit Earth’s magnetic field in a day or so UPDATE 2
March 7, 2012
Coronal mass ejection on Sun March 7, 2012 (credit: NASA)
CME March 9, 2012 (credit: NASA)
UPDATE 2 March 9, 5:33 PM EST: A second CME is on the way. Big sunspot AR1429 (now more than seven times wider than Earth) unleashed an M6-class solar flare today, and the eruption hurled a cloud of plasma almost directly toward Earth.
Forecasters say the CME could reach our planet during the late hours of March 10th or early hours of March 11th. Strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives. — Spaceweather.com
UPDATE 1 March 7, 4:04 PM EST: “Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, who prepared the CME’s forecast track, say the CME will reach Earth on March 8th at 0625 UT (+/- 7 hr), possibly triggering a strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm.”
Polar geomagnetic storms are underway following the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 7th at approximately 0400 UT, according to Spaceweather.com.
High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, phone.
Shortly after the CME impact, a burst of Northern Lights appeared over the US-Canadian border. Shawn Malone photographed the display from the shores of Lake Superior. (Credit: Shawn Malone)