Aurora Borealis is one of the coolest astronomical events we can see with our naked eyes. It makes the sky glow beautifully, and the aurora is just random and can be exciting. But they may not be as random as we all think: historical data suggest Aurora Borealis owns season They are more likely to happen than other times of the year. The vernal equinox is one of them, it is around the corner.
Read more: The vernal equinox is almost here: Have you heard of the myth of egg balance?
The idea of Aurora Borealis having “season” comes from Data Compilation NASA astrophysicist Dr. David Hathaway. According to the data, the Northern Lights are more likely to appear in March, April, September and October. These are the months closest to spring and equinox – times of year The sun crosses the equator And provide almost equal sunlight to the entire planet.
Hathaway’s data is the latest, but not the first one. Every Earth skyBritish Jesuit astronomer Aloysius Cortie published a study on the link between Equinoxes and Auroras in 1912. Later, Sydney Chapman and Julius Bartels GeomagneticismThis is a factual textbook on the subject for decades.
Read more: Check out these breathtaking photos of the Northern Lights
This means more than a century of scientific consensus suggests that as we reach spring, the Northern Lights are more likely to appear in the next few months, and then change again in September and October with the seasons.
Why does Aurora Borealis have seasons?
The key to the whole process seems to be the way the vernal equinox works. In winter and summer, half of the Earth deviates from the Sun, thus reducing the likelihood of Aurora Borealis (unless the geomagnetic storm is particularly strong).
“The vernal equinox is the transition point in the hemisphere’s tilt towards the sun,” Shannon Schmoll Abrams Planetariumtell CNET in email. “At this point, the angle of the Earth’s magnetic field is more favorable and closer to perpendicular, which makes it easier for charged solar particles to interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.”
Read more: Why does Aurora Borealis suddenly become more frequent?
According to Dr. Schmoll, the Earth’s magnetic field has the North Pole and the South Pole, just like any magnet. The same is true for the sun. Dr. Schmoll said science is still figuring out these details, but in short, the sun and the earth’s lines are better during the vernal equinox, which favors more frequent aurora.
“The relative position of all the magnetic field lines around this time makes it easier for the Earth to interact with the solar charged solar wind, resulting in Aurora,” Schmoll said.
Spring Equinox effect – also known as Russell-McPherron effect – It is also completely separate from the 11-year solar cycle that the sun runs through. Currently, the sun is Maximum in this cyclewhich increases the chances of Aurora Borealis more.
Increased Sun activity and vernal equinox effects have been observed recently. Aurora Borealis in the second half of 2024 Light up the night sky for most of September and Octobersome people enter the United States farther away than typical people.
When is the next Aurora Borealis?
As they said, it was this season and Aurora Borealis already knew it existed. According to the Space Weather Forecast Center, Aurora is happening Tuesday, March 4, just one night.
It won’t lower like Texas More epic aurora made last yearbut for people in the north, this should be a good show.
Aurora is expected to arrive in Iowa, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota for the best views. It can also be partially seen in parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine, Michigan, and New York, New Hampshire and Vermont.
