“At nighthz Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday there are chances to record or even see the aurora borealis from mid-latitudes, i.e. from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The reason is the stormy activity of the Sun, which produced ten strong eruptions in the last day. Clouds of plasma should hit our planet during the Friday night hours and cause geomagnetic storms that will probably last through the entire weekend,” said Horálek.
He added that when the Sun reaches the maximum of its eleven-year cycle, eruptive regions occur on its surface. “The denser solar wind is rapidly escaping from them in the form of plasma clouds. In recent days, however, such areas were located on the side facing the Earth and produced several strong eruptions, during which clouds of plasma were released in the direction of Earth. At the moment, astronomers know of at least three such clouds that are heading our way,” said Horálek.
Although the plasma clouds released during strong eruptions travel directly to Earth, the occurrence of auroras cannot be 100% guaranteed. “These clouds also carry their own magnetic field and this must have suitable properties to interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and cause the aurora borealis. Unfortunately, these properties cannot be diagnosed in advance,” said the astronomer.
Auroras that can be observed from the Czech Republic are usually very weak. According to Horálek, inexperienced observers may mistake them for light pollution or robins. “If the auroras visible from our territory occur on weekend nights, favorable conditions will favor the phenomenon. Mthe moon, which might otherwise outshine the phenomenon with its light, is now practically a new moon. The weather should be favorable especially on the night from Friday to Saturday,” said Horálek.
Those interested in observing the phenomenon should find a place with an unobstructed view to the north. At the same time, it should be an area where observation will not be disturbed by light pollution. In the direction to the north, therefore, no major city may be located within tens of kilometers.
Auroras are among the most beautiful natural phenomena in the sky and are quite common in the polar regions, where they are visible all over the sky. “In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, do not expect a bright glow like in the Nordic regions, they are usually only detectable photographically and are difficult to see with the eyes, due to, among other things, the excess of harmful light pollution from cities,” said Horálek. For those interested in observing the auroras, he recommends watching the so-called auroral monitors, on a computer at www.solarham.com or www.spaceweatherlive.com, or via the Aurora Alerts mobile application.
