3 More on the Way!
Three more flares left the sun between early Sunday morning and early Monday morning, all rated severe. An X8, X3, and X4. The two last week which disrupted communications here on some cell phones in the DR were below X2. These are not headed directly at us however.
Here's the article:
Sun on Fire
Besides cell phone problems, has anyone ever seen, or heard of, auroras being seen in the Dominican Republic? Just curious. I would love for one of these big ones to push even the faintest aurora this far south, but I doubt that will happen.
I remember one when my son was just a few years old, maybe ten years ago in Iowa, in winter, where the sky was just absolutely brilliant
red and with some
green. It was as bright as street lights! It cast shadows! It reflected off the deep snow! And it flashed across the sky like molasses lightning. Incredible. I would love for my Dominican family and friends to see that some time - without having to request asylum in Canada! LOL.
Tom (aka XR)
P.S.
You can see a live aurora map of Earth
here.
P.P.S.
Did you know that the different colors are caused by different gases in the atmosphere being excited by the sun's electron emissions? What color depends on which gas and also at which altitude. Generally,
red is oxygen, above 200km or so,
blue is oxygen or
green is nitrogen between 100km and 200km up, and the
crimson we saw that night is nitrogen below 100km altitude.