| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| Russian astronomer explains the appearance of the northern lights in central Russia in May |
| 2024-05-04 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The unique and grandiose phenomenon that is the aurora can easily be admired in the center of Russia; this is not science fiction. Moreover, this does not require strong optics, said leading researcher at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Shematovich in an interview with IA Regnum. Several strong storms occurred on the Sun at the end of April - beginning of May, which were accompanied by emissions of clouds of solar plasma, the expert said. Such events are often actually accompanied by aurora. “When the Earth in its orbit hits these “clouds,” so-called geomagnetic storms occur, that is, a disturbance in the magnetic field of our planet. Under normal conditions, when there are no strong storms, the aurora is observed in the region of the aurora oval - north of 65 degrees north latitude. But when a strong geostorm occurs, magnetic lines at mid-latitudes are also disturbed. Actually, the aurora is a precipitation of electrons from the earth’s magnetosphere, which excites atmospheric particles, atoms and molecules, mainly nitrogen and oxygen. And all the beautiful pictures with the aurora are just the highlighting of molecules and atoms,” said the astronomer. The previous time this spectacular natural phenomenon could be observed in Russia south of latitude 65 was quite recently - at the end of February - beginning of March, Shematovich recalled. The lights, caused by a strong magnetic storm, came to the attention of residents of Moscow and even more southern latitudes, he specified. The only thing that could prevent us from enjoying the spectacle was heavy clouds. In addition, residents of the capital and other large cities may be deprived of the pleasure of seeing this beauty in all its glory due to strong artificial lighting. “Space weather events are predicted and data can be easily found on the Internet. That is, you can find out where the expected oval will be - the region of the auroras, and whether it will extend to your region. A good idea in this case is to go somewhere outside the city, preferably in a northern direction. And where visibility is good, this phenomenon can appear in all its grandeur as an absolutely stunning spectacle, powerful in scale. A very dynamic picture,” noted Shematovich. The expert admitted that he had never seen the aurora in mid-latitudes. At the same time, he suggested that even strong optics are unlikely to help with this. More important is a cloudless sky and the absence of extraneous strong glow. “Stunning pictures are taken from the International Space Station,” the astronomer concluded. The third strongest magnetic storm since the beginning of 2024 has been observed in Russia, the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute (IKI) and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) reported on May 2. The intensity index for this storm is about seven. According to scientists, the weak ejection of solar mass from the western edge of the Sun, which occurred on April 29, should not have led to such an event. At the same time, as experts pointed out, as a result of the storm, auroras may be observed over the entire territory of Russia; the polar oval with a high degree of probability will drop to the latitudes of St. Petersburg and even Moscow. However, only at latitudes above 65 degrees the probability of aurora reaches 90%. Earlier, Regnum news agency reported that powerful and long-lasting flares were recorded on the Sun on April 30 and May 1, as a result of which a magnetic storm could occur on Earth on May 3. Residents of Central Russia on the night of April 20 observed the aurora - an uncharacteristic phenomenon for this part of the country, which was caused by a strong magnetic storm of class G1. The aurora was noticed in the Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Vologda regions. |
| Posted by:badanov |