March and April were amazingly active month for the Sun . In fact , it was just the sort of activity we wish . Had the intensity of the Sun ’s geomagnetic outbursts been much greater , we might have faced damageto satellitesorpower lines . Instead , all we got was some spectacularly beautiful aurora .
After a real butgreatly overhypedevent in March , mid - April look three “ coronal trap ” unresolved up on the Sun ’s surface , have a strong - than - usual solar farting to rush towards Earth . A few day later , our neighborhood star produce a large geomagnetic violent storm that lit up our skies .
When the tempest was first announce , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration account it as a G1 , the lowest category of storm . However , over the next few days , it was upgraded until it became the heavy G2 for quite a while on April 20th . Although sunrise occur in the absence seizure of storms , they retreat closer to the magnetic poles , where few hoi polloi get to witness them . It ’s events like this one that push them out where more people can enjoy them .
Aurora CrescendofromJames StoneonVimeo . Taken at Beerbarrel Beach , Tasmania
Many the great unwashed close enough to one of the Earth ’s charismatic pole had their views blocked by clouds , but in part of Tasmania and southeastern Australia , the sky was spectacularly clear .
Meanwhile , on the other side of the existence , auroras so bright they could be see in day were reported in Montana .
Aurora photography has really taken off in recent geezerhood thanks to the boom in digital camera . This has n’t just create a arresting collection of photographs such as these ( andearlier examples ) , it ’s also led to thediscovery , first made by amateurs , of an entirelynew type of aurora , which somehow got the name Steve .
The Sun go through an 11 - yr activeness cycle , but the most late peak , from 2012 - 2014 , was much less intense than any previous oscillation since1830 . We ’re now catch close to the solar minimum , so storms like thisare unusual .
Eighteen years ago , when magnetic storms like this were relatively frequent , most people lacked the engineering to record them . Today , digital camera , editing programs , and the attainment to utilize both are now widespread . alas , we ’re now in a solar minimum , so there are few prominent auroras to record . That will change in another 2 - 3 years , however , when the bike should turn and aurorean bodily function should become more mutual . And when that happens , just think of the feast for our eyes we can expect
Until then , cherish figure like this , taken from Stawell , Victoria , a place usually too far from the magnetic terminal to experience any auroras at all .
