MID-LATITUDE AURORAS IN THE USA: As predicted, a G2-class geomagnetic storm occurred over the weekend. On Saturday night, Northern Lights were photographed in the USA as far south as Colorado and Missouri. More mid-latitude displays are possible in the weeks ahead as we approach the northern autumnal equinox, a special time of year when even weak CME impacts can cause widespread auroras. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.
"Last night was absolutely epic!!" says Ethan Hohnke, who send this picture from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Empire, Michigan:
Above: Auroras on Sept. 2, 2023, over the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Empire, Michigan (+45N). Photo credit: Ethan Hohnke
"Northern lights could be seen dancing over the waters of Lake Michigan before the bright Moon rose," says Hohnke. "I was standing near the 45th parallel when I took this picture."
The lights spread even farther south than that. Photographers captured the red glow of atomic-oxygen auroras in Colorado (+38.9N) and Missouri (+38.6N). In these southernmost photographs, auroras were not visible to the naked eye, but easily recorded by cameras and cell phones with nighttime exposure settings.
Back to the origin of the storm: It is possible that a CME arrived on Sept. 2nd, but its weak impact was masked by an unsettled stream of solar wind already blowing around Earth. At this time of year, even weak CMEs do a good job sparking auroras--a result of the Russell-McPherron effect which boosts geomagnetic activity around the equinoxes. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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