The Sun has unleashed a powerful solar flare, resulting in radio blackouts across parts of the globe and prompting forecasts for Northern Lights displays on Tuesday night.
Solar Flare Details
The flare erupted from sunspot region AR4436 on Sunday, which is currently rotating to face Earth. Classified as an M5.8-class flare, it is strong enough to cause noticeable space weather events. The initial burst of electromagnetic radiation, traveling at light speed, triggered a moderate radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and parts of eastern Africa, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This disruption primarily affected high-frequency radio communications used by aviators and mariners.
Coronal Mass Ejection
The solar flare also blew a hole in the Sun's outer atmosphere, creating a coronal mass ejection (CME) that launched a cloud of magnetized solar plasma into space. Traveling at approximately 650 kilometers per second, the CME is expected to shoot past Earth on Tuesday night, with parts of the plume glancing the atmosphere and generating aurora displays.
Northern Lights Forecast
Weather permitting, the Northern Lights could be visible at more southerly latitudes, including parts of the UK and northern US. The Met Office's latest aurora forecast states: "There is the potential for a glancing CME arriving into early UTC on 13 May. This may bring an enhancement to the auroral oval perhaps allowing sightings across northern Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes, where skies are clear." Patchy cloud is expected over parts of the UK on Tuesday night, though some locations may have clear skies.
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is monitoring the CME's arrival, noting that while modeling suggests the bulk of the material will pass behind Earth's orbit, a glancing blow or shock arrival by late 12 May into early 13 May UTC cannot be ruled out.
