The matter in summary: One of the most powerful solar storms in many years has led to almost all of Norway being able to see the northern lights. The Northern Lights warning applies to almost all of Norway, but clear weather is necessary to be able to see the lights. Northern Norway and Central Norway will have the best aurora borealis weather, while Southern Norway, Eastern Norway and Western Norway will have worse conditions due to clouds and warnings of snow. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It is actually one of the most powerful solar storms in many years. That’s what space scientist Pål Brekke at the Norwegian Space Center says. It was on Friday that scientists observed a powerful eruption on the sun, where it spat out X-rays, high-energy particles and gas. – It is believed that the solar storm was much more powerful than we have been able to measure, because the explosion was right on the edge of the sun and not aimed at us. Both Friday and Saturday there was a lot of activity on the sun’s surface: Does that also mean a lot of northern lights? Not necessarily, says Brekke. – There was another and smaller solar storm around midnight on Saturday night. Unlike the storm on Friday, this one was pointed straight at Earth. Then there can often be very good northern lights, he says. This has led to the Northern Lights warning being valid for almost all of Norway. Extends down to Sørlandet – It has been reported to KP index 5 on the night of Monday and night of Tuesday. KP index is a measurement of magnetic activity in the Earth’s magnetic field. The scale goes from 0 to 9 and tells us how wide the aurora oval is. Illustration: Brekke / Storm.no The higher the KP number, the greater the chance of seeing the northern lights in the south of Norway. So how much is KP index 5? – A KP index of 5 means that the northern lights will be visible in most of Norway, says Brekke. Pål Brekke is a researcher at the Norwegian Space Centre, and closely follows what happens on the sun. Photo: Norsk Romsenter The meteorologist: These get clear weather Even though the northern lights dance in the sky, you depend on clear weather to see the light. And not everyone gets the opportunity to do that, says meteorologist on duty Terje Walløe. – It will be Northern Norway and Central Norway that will get the best Northern Lights weather, both tonight and the night to Tuesday. Southern Norway and large parts of Eastern Norway have to make do with clouds and a yellow warning for snow. Western Norway has not had luck on its side this time either. – Already at Møre and Romsdal there are some high clouds which will make visibility poor. You may be able to glimpse the northern lights through the clouds if you are lucky. The KP index tells something about how far south the northern lights can be seen when they occur. A KP number of 5 means that the northern lights are expected to extend down to Southern Norway. Photo: ServiceAurora Radiation from a solar storm knocked out communication The activity on the sun does not only bring with it beautiful northern lights. It also leads to some unfortunate consequences on earth. – The radiation storm lasted all of Saturday, and led to radio communication problems in the northern regions. It affected high frequencies, so-called short waves, which are used, among other things, in amateur radio. – All the Amarø radio people struggled a lot yesterday to talk to each other, says Brekke. Dark spots can be seen in several places on the sun. These are ongoing solar storms, and it is gases and particles from the largest spot in the middle that cause aurora over large parts of Norway on the night of Monday and night of Tuesday. Photo: SDO/HMI But air traffic that goes over the poles can also be affected when the radiation is at its worst. Air traffic mostly uses satellites to communicate and shortwave as a back-up connection. But there are currently no satellites available over the North and South Poles. And when the short waves are knocked out by solar storms, there are consequences. – From Svalbard and northward, there is no satellite communication that can be used when the short waves have problems. Then it may be that planes have to go a little further south. But that is exactly the problem Norway will actually have to do something about this summer. – Then Norway will launch the first broadband satellite for the Arctic. There, Norway is first in the world. It will be launched from the US this summer with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Norwegian space program Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) consists of two satellites that will hover over the Arctic and provide broadband access north of the 65th parallel. The satellites will be launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX during the first half of 2024. Illustration: Northrop Grumman Space Systems
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Strong solar storm produces northern lights in the whole country – There is only one problem – news Nordland
