Oh, and at night too. When the solar cycle is near its maximum, aurora australis are sometimes visible in New Zealand (especially the South Island), southern Australia (especially Tasmania), and southern Chile and Argentina (sometimes in South Africa too). About the colors: the physics is si...
What is solar activity? Solar activity is like “weather” • Sunspots • Solar Flares • Solar Prominences • All related to magnetic fields Sunspots Are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface (4000 K) Are regions with strong ...
The role of solar activity Aurora color FAQs answered by an expert Additional resources Bibliography The aurora, also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a breathtaking natural phenomenon that has captivated humans for millennia. This remark...
Those wishing to see the northern lights will also be happy to hear that while aurora activity is high during solar maximum it actually peaks a couple of years after solar maximum. So the best northern lights are yet to come! Experts say the 2026-2027 aurora season is the big one so mar...
Aurora is a natural light display in Earth's sky, primarily seen in high latitude regions, caused by solar winds disturbing the magnetosphere. Nebulae are vast clouds of gas and dust in space, often the birthplace of stars, visible as luminous patches.
where real time solar activity is tracked. And the final website is the USSpace Weather Prediction Centrewhere you will find a lot of important information regarding current activity and even more frequently asked questions. Used in conjunction, you’ll be in the know for when you try to catc...
And do I need to tell you when the solar wind is especially strong? Yep, every eleven years, when the magnetic activity of sunspots is peaking. The charged particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, and they’re pulled toward the North and South Poles. Some of them make it into ou...
intense sunspot activity.Sunspots were first observed centuries earlier… temporary, dark spots on the face of the Sun… they’re gaseous, highly magnetic regions that move across the Sun’s surface.Sunspot cycles are at their height every eleven years, and so are aurora cycles. They peak ...
Rugged Stewart Island is occasionally lit up by the aurora Australis. Mark Carwardine/Iconica/Getty Images New Zealand's Southland is one of the locations supplying radar data to a global network that tracks auroral activity. (Tasmania is another one.) Stewart Island is part of Southland. ...
but sometimes they take colors from violet to red.The auroras can be seen at any time of the year, with the right atmospheric conditions.They’re most often seen near the North and South Poles, during times of maximum solar activity.The closer to the North or South Pole you are, the be...