CLEVELAND — A massive explosion occurred on the surface of the sun this past Thursday. Sunspot AR2887 blew its top, spewing a mass of energy into space.
Now, sunspots are common on the surface of the sun—but this one has our attention.
First, it was a relatively big explosion. It's considered an "X-1" solar flare. That's pretty big. Secondly, it was pointed almost directly at Earth.
This X-1 Solar Flare has produced a huge burst of energy called a Coronal Mass Ejection. This ball of energy is traveling toward our planet at an incredible 3.3 million miles per hour. It's expected to hit Earth's magnetic field on Saturday, producing a G-3 class geo-magnetic storm at both the north and south poles. The result will likely be a very colorful Aurora Borealis strong enough to be visible farther south than usual including the Great Lakes states!
This means that Northern Ohio could easily see the Northern Lights Saturday night and perhaps early Sunday morning—if the weather cooperates.
So, keep an eye to the northern sky Saturday night.
If we can get a few breaks in the clouds, we could view some incredible greens and orange colors that are typical of this awesome space weather phenomenon.
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