AURORA ALERT FOR TONIGHT 11/6/25

 Hey, Space Placers!

There are the sunspots causing current solar events imaged today with

a solar filter equipped telescope.

Greg Redfern

In addition to the wonderful sky sights of November https://wtop.com/the-space-place/2025/11/whats-up-in-the-sky-for-november-2025-leonid-meteor-shower-full-hunter-supermoon/  we have an extra bonus - the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora, tonight and perhaps the next few nights.

Three very active sunspots that produced powerful solar events while on the far side of the sun  https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=01&month=11&year=2025   are now facing Earth. Solar events have occurred   https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=06&month=11&year=2025  which are currently predicted to give us our best chance of seeing the Aurora tonight after it gets dark. Conditions may develop for additional sighting opportunities the next few nights as well.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/  issued yesterday a prediction for a G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation  which occurred last night with some Aurora being seen in Virginia and elsewhere https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/?mc_cid=f43ef7a141&mc_eid=9aeb2a4318 .

This G3 Geomagnetic Storm - and potentially others that could follow in the next few days - was caused by coronal mass ejections (CME) https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections  which in turn are caused by solar flares https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/solar-flares-radio-blackouts.

These Geomagnetic Storms and associated Aurora events forecasted are 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.

Here is SWPC’s two-day Aurora forecast https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental. Check your forecasted skies to determine if your skies are clear to the North.

If the SWPC forecast holds, Aurora conditions for the DMV may be strong enough tonight to allow us to detect Aurora visually and with our cameras. 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 bright 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. Even if you do not see Aurora, image the Northern horizon to possibly get an image of them.

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. There are Aurora apps available as well to help you.

With our terrestrial weather being such a factor in our daily lives here in the DMV, 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. 

Besides NOAA SWPC, I check Spaceweather.com https://spaceweather.com/ every day just as I do my local weather as it 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.

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.

Good luck, Aurora chasers…….

Follow Greg Redfern on his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.