CME IMPACT SPARKS STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM: One and possibly two CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 1st, sparking a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm. At the apex of the event, just before sunrise on the US west coast, auroras were photographed in the USA as far south as Arizona and California. The storm appears to be subsiding now, but it's not over; minor G1-class activity is likely in the hours ahead. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
When the CME struck, Rob King was outside in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan watching the sky. This is what he saw:
"I took this picture using nothing more than my handheld Galaxy S22 smartphone," says King. "It was amazing!"
In Canada, the auroras were so bright they competed with the waning full Moon. Harlan Thomas photographed the two side-by-side north of Calgary, Alberta:
"The aurora 'went coronal' and met up with a 22-degree Moon halo," says Thomas. "The outburst was so powerful it overpowered the cloud cover."
Are more CMEs on the way? Maybe. On Nov. 27th and 28th, the sun launched at least 3 CMEs toward Earth. The biggest one probably swept up some of the storm clouds in front of it, forming a Cannibal CME. It's possible that today's impacts account for all of those CMEs, but we can't rule out another impact before the day is over.
Would you like to know when the next CME arrives? Sign up for our Space Weather Alert Service and you'll receive an instant text message when solar storm clouds strike Earth.
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