'CIR' IMPACT SPARKS ARCTIC AURORAS: Arriving almost two days earlier than expected, a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) hit Earth on Nov. 24th. CIRs are like mini-CMEs. They do a good job sparking geomagnetic storms and auroras. Intermittent G1-class storms are underway now as a result of the impact.
This morning, while flying a Dreamliner across Canada, pilot Matt Melnyk saw the glow of the CIR from the flight deck:
"This flight was from Calgary to Paris," says Melnyk. "The aurora started as soon as we were level at 39,000 feet, and continued for over 5 straight hours! I feel so fortunate and lucky to be seeing auroras on a weekly basis from the Dreamliner."
CIRs are a way for the sun to ignite auroras without explosive solar activity. All that’s required is a fast solar wind stream brushing up against a slower one. In the transition zone between the two streams, rivulets of plasma press magnetic fields together, creating strong shock-like structures that mimic CMEs. This was a good one! Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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