The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an alert this morning concerning an exploding sun spot that could possibly allow Iowans to see the aurora borealis in the night sky until January 10.
Typically seen in far-north latitudes, aurora is caused by the collision of charged particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with particles from the Sun released from exploding sunspots and solar wind. The collision of these particles produces an awe-inspiring ribbon of red or green lights across the sky.
Unfortunately for Iowa City residents, the National Weather Service forecasts cloudy night skies for the Corridor until Saturday night. NOAA also reports that this flare may cause power voltage irregularities, false alarms in protection devices, in addition to some radio frequency and GPS satellite interruptions.
