The sun just unleashed its most powerful solar flare since 2017.
At 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT), the X9.05 solar flare reached its peak causing shortwave radio blackouts in Africa and Europe, which were sunlit at the time of the eruption, according to Space.com.
This solar flare set a new record as the most powerful one in the current solar cycle and is actually the strongest solar flare in over seven years!
Northern Lights in the Lehigh Valley
On October 1, this same sunspot area released a strong X7.1 solar flare and triggered a coronal mass ejection (CME) - a combination of plasma and magnetic field - now heading towards Earth.
A G3 magnetic storm is forecasted by the Space Weather Prediction branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for Friday.
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the G3 storm will allow for auroras (Northern Lights) to be visible in far northern parts of both states, according to reports.
Those in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos will have the best opportunity to witness this phenomenon, although visibility could be hindered by weather conditions, particularly cloud cover.
These storms can have sudden onsets and can occur during the day or night.
For us to see this one, we would need it to occur at night. The forecast from NOAA has the storm peaking Friday evening in our region.
How can you view the aurora?
One of the best ways to view the aurora is with your smartphone.
The lens from your phone's camera will adjust for darker conditions and can pick up faint auroras that are not visible to the naked eye.
Look toward the northern sky on Friday evening. Hopefully, we get a chance to see them in the Lehigh Valley.
Check out NOAA's 3-day forecast for the latest timings.
Note: Space weather is similar to Earth's weather in that it is unpredictable and challenging to forecast. While geomagnetic storm warnings of this level are uncommon, they can still sometimes fizzle to nothing.
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What's going on in the Lehigh Valley
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