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Solar activity is increasing! The Aurora Borealis may be visible across Canada on the night of Monday, February 27 as flares from the sun sweep past the Earth.
On Friday, February 24th, an explosion on the Sun sent a huge cloud of charged particles into space. As this “Coronal Mass Ejection” (CME) swept across the Earth a few days later on Sunday, February 26, it, along with the effects of a fast-moving solar wind, ignited a geomagnetic storm.
This resulted in an amazing display of the Aurora Borealis across Canada, particularly in the regions further north.
However, in a fairly rare occurrence, they have also been sighted from southern Ontario!
These images from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite show the extent of the aurora over Canada on the night of February 26-27, 2023. Credit: CIMSS/SSEC/UW-Madison
Look up tonight!
More Northern Lights displays are expected across the country on the night of Monday, February 27th.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center says two more CMEs — which burst out of the sun on Saturday and Sunday — will arrive late Monday, just as the increased activity from Sunday and early Monday is fading. SWPC forecasters expect this to result in a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm.
While it’s difficult to predict exactly how bright the auroras will be and how far south they’ll be seen, the “oval” of the auroras tends to cover most of the country during a G2 geomagnetic storm.
The only regions that tend to be left out under these conditions are southwestern Ontario, southern Nova Scotia, and southwestern British Columbia.
Unfortunately, active weather in some parts of Canada will keep skies cloudy overnight. Based on the cloud map shown above, the best viewing locations are central and northern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and some parts of Atlantic Canada.
Thumbnail courtesy of Theresa and Darlene Tanner who photographed the aurora on February 27, 2023 from central Alberta. (Team Tanner
See below: Calgary resident Scott Lang captured the best aurora he’s ever seen from the city on February 27, 2023
Click here to watch the video
