Courtesy: NASA SOHO
As the Sun turned active region AR1302 (the group of large sunspots in this image) toward Earth this past weekend, plasma erupted in the form of a coronal mass ejection. That plasma began impacting Earth’s atmosphere at about 1300 UT (0900 EDT) on 26 September 2011, eliciting some nice auroral displays. Increased auroral activity is expected to continue through the 27th.
References:
- Aurora Alert for September 26 and 27! 26 September 2011. Nancy Atkinson. Universe Today.
- SpaceWeather
- Sunspot 1302. 26 September 2011. Adrian West. Universe Today.
- NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
