AURORA ALERT FOR NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 1-2

 Hey, Space Placers!

iPhone Pic of Aurora

Greg Redfern

Just three months ago the Sun had an eruption that gave us the possibility of seeing Aurora in our skies  https://wtop.com/the-space-place/2025/06/how-to-maybe-catch-a-glimpse-of-the-aurora-this-week/ . 

Once again we have viewing prospects tonight as the Sun had a recent eruption with our planet directly in the crosshairs.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/  issued the following Geomagnetic Storm Watch  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g2-moderate-g3-strong-geomagnetic-storm-watch-0102-sep-2025 today:

Geomagnetic Storm  WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G3 Predicted

Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:

Aug 31:  None (Below G1)   Sep 01:  G2 (Moderate)   Sep 02:  G3 (Strong)

As stated in the Watch:

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.

Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.

Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.

Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.

Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.

Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

This Geomagnetic Storm Watch is in effect due to a coronal mass ejection (CME) https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections  that occurred August 30 on the Sun which was caused by a solar flare https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/solar-flares-radio-blackouts.

This Geomagnetic Storm and associated Aurora event forecasted is not predicted to reach the historic levels of May 10th of 2024 https://wtop.com/the-space-place/2024/05/a-severe-geomagnetic-storm-may-be-coming-what-does-that-mean/  . But, we should be watching the skies just in case the Aurora appear.

For the DMV, SWPC’s two-day Aurora forecast https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental  and our forecasted partly cloudy skies https://wtop.com/weather/ , means we MAY detect Aurora to the North.

If the SWPC forecast holds, Aurora conditions for the DMV may be strong enough the night of September 1-2 to allow us to detect Aurora visually and with our cameras like we have in the past. 

It will be well worth taking a look to the North tonight after dark until dawn from a dark sky site with a clear horizon. You might be able to visually detect some color in the sky if Aurora are present but they will likely be low on the Northern horizon.

Your camera and/or smartphone significantly improves your chances of detecting and imaging the Aurora due to their digital sensors.

Use a camera or smartphone that can take exposures of several seconds - including using “Night Sky” or “Low Light” settings if your camera has them - of the Northern horizon. Steady the camera or use a tripod for best image results. The camera likely capture Aurora that your eyes did not  https://www.space.com/how-to-photograph-the-aurora .

Our best bet is to monitor Clear Sky Chart (input your location) https://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/  for sky conditions and the NOAA https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/   and space related social media sites    https://twitter.com/TamithaSkov,   EarthSky.org , space.com for Aurora viewing updates.

Spaceweather.com https://spaceweather.com/    - I check this site every day just as I do my local weather - has a daily snapshot of what the Space Weather in the solar system is going to be like and a current image of the Sun.

With our terrestrial weather being such a factor in our daily lives, and frankly, the rest of the world, we are also directly affected by Space Weather https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/about-space-weather which can produce a variety of events, including today’s Geomagnetic Storm and the Aurora. 

Space Weather, like our terrestrial weather, is caused by Earth’s interaction with our star, the Sun. We know it will be there every new day and count on it for life-giving warmth and energy. We also have become accustomed to it being well behaved. What many people may not know is that our Sun undergoes an 11 year Solar Cycle https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/ that can affect Space Weather throughout our Solar System.

Our Sun https://www.nasa.gov/sun  is a 4.5 billion year old star that we have been monitoring since Galileo. Today, humans have a fleet of spacecraft that monitor the Sun and Space Weather 24x7x365.

The Sun had an episode of disturbed behavior in 1859 that if it were to occur today could adversely affect us if we were not prepared.

In 1859 on September 1st the Sun experienced a solar storm episode that was observed by solar astronomer Richard Carrington that ended up bearing his name -"the Carrington Event” https://scijinks.gov/what-was-the-carrington-event/ . This was a watershed event in solar astronomy and also the Sun's affect on the Earth as nothing like it has not been seen since - thankfully as you will see.

If a Carrington-level solar event were to happen today the affect on modern society's infrastructure could be potentially catastrophic, especially the electrical grid which powers everything else. If you think this is unlikely or too sci-fi to be true, I suggest you read the report by the National Academies of Science published in 2008.

You check the weather regularly, I am sure. Maybe now you will want to include a check on Space Weather too as part of your daily weather routine.

Good luck, Aurora chasers…….

Sky Guy Greg