The aurora borealis may be visible over Durango tonight as a severe solar storm hits Earth.
Dave Byers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storm is the result of a large solar flare that occurred Sunday. The flare sent energized protons hurling through space that are expected to reach Earth Monday night.
“It was just under an X2 flare, which was on the low end of a large flare, but it did put out a lot of energetic protons with it,” Byers said. “Satellites detected a coronal mass ejection, which is just a blob of plasma getting blown off the sun.”
Byers said energized particles flow through the Earth’s magnetosphere and then energize particles in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light. Oxygen molecules throw off red light, while nitrogen molecules produce ephemeral blue and green lights, Byers said.
“They’re different colors for the different layers of the atmosphere and the energy of the particles coming in,” Byers said.
The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center predicted Monday that the northern lights will be mostly visible in the northern United States but could be visible as far south as Colorado. People should look toward the northern horizon.
Byers said if the aurora isn’t visible to the naked eye Monday night, those hoping to catch a glimpse should check ski area webcams. Byers uses Aspen Snowmass’ ski cams, which use low-light technology and does a good job of capturing the borealis.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
