A solar flare is supposed to hit earth today...

[Jem]

Well, as my title explains...A solar flare is supposed to hit earth today, and they are saying it could impact us.
I have always been interested in "how the universe works" so I'll be looking into this a bit more, and keeping an eye out for the Northern Lights.
Geomagnetic storm warning as solar flare expected to directly hit Earth today

 

[doomsdave]

Hmm. Hope this doesn't turn into another Carrington Event.

Carrington Event - Wikipedia

This was similar to the one that just occurred in 1859 which gravely disrupted our then primitive electrical grid. Are we protected today? Or are we a planet full of sitting ducks?

 

[betsygee]

Oh how interesting! Let us know what you see.

 

[Willowy]

Every time I see that in the news, I look for the aurora. . .haven't seen it yet!
(Well, once, maybe 25 years ago.)

My dad has some big theories about the end of civilization due to power grid disruptions but idk, humans have survived far worse.

 

[Jem]

They say the aurora could be seen as far down as New York, but possibly further. They are predicting a Kp=4, so If you look at this chart you might be able to tell if you might see them.

 

[Jem]

It's pretty cloudy around here, so I think I'm out of luck to see them...

 

[Jem]

G2 Geomagnetic Storm Watch Issued for Earth for October 11

Here's alink to what they say could happen when it comes to power grid and satellite disruptions. The concentration of the flair is supposed to hit...."The Space Weather Prediction Center says the area of impact will focus primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude."....whatever that means????

 

[Talien]

Too far north for me, it'd have to be a KP6 or 7 for me to see it.

Hmm. Hope this doesn't turn into another Carrington Event.

Carrington Event - Wikipedia

This was similar to the one that just occurred in 1859 which gravely disrupted our then primitive electrical grid. Are we protected today? Or are we a planet full of sitting ducks?

Nope, we'd be SOL. It's well known that the electrical grid is badly in need of an upgrade to protect against things like that. A CME like that one hitting us today would wreck it. Telegraph lines bursting into flames was bad enough back then, but imagine today with high tension lines torching off and transformers exploding everywhere like you see in movies. Some people even suspect that substations might blow.

 

[Willowy]

Here's the prediction for tonight. It does swoop into northern SD, maybe I'll be able to see something low on the horizon. I might go for a little drive before bed (I can't see N from my house due to the shelterbelt).

 

[MonaLyssa33]

My dad lives an hour north of Minneapolis and in the middle of nowhere, so I texted him to see if he's able to see anything tonight.

 

[Jem]

They say the best time to see them is between 9-11pm and then again around 2am.

 

[vince]

Went and looked north (42 degrees north latitude). It's clear, but I didn't see anything yet. Will look again a little later.

 

[Willowy]

I went and looked, didn't really see anything, although it maybe looked a little lighter than it should have; since it's not cloudy and not humid, there really shouldn't be a lot for the lights to bounce off. So I took a picture with night mode, and. . .maybe? (This is way brighter than what I saw. It's DARK out there!)

Not the most impressive display but cool.

 

[vince]

Nothing visible here. Clouds have moved in.