The starry sky has an appointment丨 The beauty has been turned over! Come and see the gorgeous "Aurora Show"
On the evening of May 10 and the early morning of May 11, under the influence of geomagnetic storms, rare auroras appeared in many places around the world, including the mainland, which was also a wide range of aurora seen in the mainland.
This is the aurora photographed in Fuyun County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang. (Photo by Dai Jianfeng)
According to the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center, under the influence of multiple coronal mass ejection processes, geomagnetic activity may occur on May 10 and 11, of which a geomagnetic storm above moderate may occur on May 11, and geomagnetic activity is expected to continue until the 11th or even the 12th.
Aurora photographed by star photographer Yang Lipeng in Dahaidao, Hami City, Xinjiang. (Photo courtesy of Starlink CSVA)
For aurora enthusiasts, geomagnetic storms can also be accompanied by auroras. Auroras are produced by the interaction of the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. When charged particles emitted by the Sun crash into the Earth at a very high speed, the Earth's magnetic field will attract them to the high altitude near the North and South Poles, and collide with molecules or atoms in the atmosphere, resulting in excitation and ionization phenomena called auroras.
Star photographer Li Shuo photographed the aurora in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. (Photo courtesy of Starlink CSVA)
Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomical science popularization, said that the appearance of auroras is closely related to solar activity, and the more intense the solar activity, the higher the possibility of auroras.
Since May this year, with the emergence of large sunspots on the sun's surface, the sun has continued to erupt violently, with 10 X-class flares and more than 60 M-class flares erupting in just one week, and the intensity and frequency of outbreaks are rare in history.
Star photographer Zhao Dongqi photographed the aurora in Yanchi Town, Hamiyiwu County, Xinjiang. (Photo courtesy of Starlink CSVA)
Under the combined action of the earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, on the evening of May 10 and the early morning of May 11, gorgeous auroras appeared in Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places in the mainland.
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Aurora micro-record in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang. (Provided by Dai Jianfeng)
Dai Jianfeng, a veteran starry sky photographer, conducted a live broadcast of the aurora in the Altay region of Xinjiang. "The whole sky in the north is red, and the various aurora columns are clearly visible to the naked eye, which is constantly changing, it is simply fantastic! Red, green, and purple aurora are intertwined, and they dance and sing in the night sky to create an incomparable piano concerto. In the WeChat circle of friends, Dai Jianfeng happily posted his observation feelings.
"The more brilliant the aurora, the more intense the geomagnetic storm. This time, the aurora has a large range and is really rare. Xiu Lipeng said.
Starry sky photographer Xu Chen photographed the aurora in Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia. (Photo courtesy of Starlink CSVA)
Xiu Lipeng also said that the current solar cycle may peak between 2024 and 2025. During this period, solar activity will be very frequent and intense, and the probability of aurora outbreaks will be higher than in normal years, which also means that people in the northern region will have more opportunities to see the beautiful auroras.
Source: Half Moon Talk