THE STORM IS NOT OVER: A CME hit Earth's magnetic field on May 10th, sparking the biggest geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years--an extreme category G5 event. It is subsiding now (currently category G2), but it is not over. More CMEs are expected to hit Earth's magnetic field during the next 24-48 hours, and they could push the storm back to extreme levels. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
AURORAS IN FLORIDA, PUERTO RICO, MEXICO: Many people around the world have just seen auroras for the first time in their lives. This includes residents of the Florida Keys. Ron Jarrell sends this photo from Big Pine Key at latitude 24.7° N:
"The auroras were so beautiful!" says Jarrell, who needed no more than his smartphone to photograph the display.
Seeing auroras in the Florida Keys is extraordinary, but the light show didn't stop there. Sky watchers saw the sky turn red across the Carribean. These pictures were taken from the southeast coast of Puerto Rico at latitude 18.1° N:
Photo credits: (left) Carlos Rolling of Hormigueros; (right) Adriel Jarell of Cabo Rojo
"The last events on record when auroras were seen from Puerto Rico were in 1859 and 1921, so tonight was an historic event", says Eddie Irizarry from the Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe (Astronomical Society of the Caribbean).
Auroras also appeared in Mexico. René Saade photographed the display looking north from the beach in Mazatlan, Sinaloa at latitude 23.2° N:
"This is not something you see every day--auroras and palm trees," says Saade. "Amazing!"
The low latitude of these sightings would seem to place this storm among the greatest aurora displays of the past 500 years. Stay tuned for more information on this topic when the storm is finally over a few days from now. Meanwhile sign up for aurora alerts!
Readers, did you photograph the auroras at low latitudes? Please submit your photos here.
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ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT CME IS COMING: Giant sunspot AR3664 unleashed another X-flare today (May 11th @ 0139 UT)--its strongest yet. The X5.8-class explosion produced a significant CME with an Earth-directed component:
The snowy speckles in this SOHO coronagraph movie are caused by energetic particles hitting the spacecraft's camera. The particles are being accelerated toward the spacecraft (and toward Earth) by shock waves in the emerging CME. They are a sign that it is a potent storm cloud with an Earth-directed component.
This CME could reach Earth on May 13th, adding new power to the ongoing geomagnetic storm. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
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