DAYTON — A G4 severe solar storm is taking place. Last night many across the Valley were able to see the Aurora Borealis to the naked eye. Many captured pictures of the glorious phenomena.
If you missed it, you have the opportunity to see them again this evening. Look due north at roughly 8pm to 12am for best results.
So, what are the Northern Lights?
Each light is a pulse of solar energy meeting the Earth’s magnetic heart. A CME, coronal mass ejection takes place on the Sun’s surface. This is basically a large flare rising off the surface of the sun.
Each color means something!
The reds that you see are excited atomic oxygen at high altitudes and are only visible under intense solar activity due to low concentration of oxygen at the higher altitudes.
The greens are atomic oxygen at lower altitudes. It is emitted instead of red due to the higher concentration of oxygen.
The purples and blues are the ionized molecular nitrogen. Its a reaction involving molecular nitrogen because the atomic oxygen is uncommon at lower altitudes.
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