Moderate G2 geomagnetic storm
Thursday, 2 March 2017 16:41 UTC
The anticipated coronal hole solar wind stream really packed a punch and gave us moderate G2 geomagnetic storming conditions yesterday. The solar wind stream turned out to be stronger than anticipated as only minor G1 geomagnetic storm conditions were expected! The north-south direction of the IMF (Bz) dropped down as low as -17nT yesterday which is very respectable for a CIR ahead of the coronal hole solar wind stream.
bWe are still occasionally reaching the minor G1 geomagnetic storm threshold today as the solar wind speed remains high (between 700 and 750km/s at the moment) but we are not expected stronger storm conditions than the this. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for automated alerts so you will be notified instantly if we are at geomagnetic storm levels.
Fantastic auroral displays were seen at many high latitude locations today and yesterday. Even folks at upper middle latitudes locations managed to capture some aurora. Below we have a couple of images. Enjoy!
Header image: Calum Gladstone Photography (Northumberland, England)
Mark Ferrier (Scotland)
Tobias Åberg (Ljungskile, Sweden)
Kristopher Roller (Iceland)
Kristopher Roller (Iceland)
Steven Lomas (South Shields, England)
Thomas Tomz Henriksen (Gilbjerg Head, Denmark)
Robin Eriksson Franzén (Kalix, Sweden)
Tommy Richardsen (Nordreisa, Norway)
Ollie Taylor Photography (Scotland)
Owen Humphreys (Northumberland, England)
Susanne Johansson (Gotland, Sweden)
Richard Hoeg (Minnesota, USA)
Benjamin Maverick Woods (Tasmania, Australia)
Aurora Borealis
— John Williams (@williamsjohn76) March 1, 2017
Port Bannatyne
Isle of Bute
just after 22.23 tonight pic.twitter.com/fkZ80bA6U4
today @ 2:38AM cloudy, green sliver below, higher gaps filled with green as sky cleared, revealing magic! #auroraaustralis #Tasmania pic.twitter.com/pqxTK7Fxae
— §u (@SussanSays) March 2, 2017
What an amazing night of #AuroraAustralis we had in Dunedin last night. #aurora #Astrophotography #NewZealand #landscape #sonya7s2 pic.twitter.com/luQmVJVBRN
— Ian Griffin (@iangriffin) March 1, 2017
Faint #aurora here in Cowal this evening. pic.twitter.com/o6VCSIoawd
— Ben Dolphin (@CountrysideBen) March 1, 2017
Amazing #aurora show tonight near Clive #alberta #northernlights #pano #teamtanner @dartanner @TamithaSkov @eljakeo30 @TheUmno @mikesobel pic.twitter.com/lKlLNV9aBV
— Theresa (Tree)Tanner (@treetanner) March 2, 2017
Reynisfjara Beach tuesday past #iceland @StormHour #northernlights @_SpaceWeather_ #Auroraborealis @SonyUK #Samyang pic.twitter.com/8xvRbqC6ZY
— ALAN LEIGHTLEY (@ilovefridaysme) March 4, 2017
Thank you for reading this article! Did you have any trouble with the technical terms used in this article? Our help section is the place to be where you can find in-depth articles, a FAQ and a list with common abbreviations. Still puzzled? Just post on our forum where we will help you the best we can!
Latest news
X2.2 solar flare, SDO outage
Major far side eruption, S1 radiation storm
Coronal hole faces Earth
Latest forum messages
Support SpaceWeatherLive.com!
A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Sun's activity or if there is aurora to be seen, but with more traffic comes higher server costs. Consider a donation if you enjoy SpaceWeatherLive so we can keep the website online!
Space weather facts
| Last X-flare | 2024/12/08 | X2.2 |
| Last M-flare | 2024/12/23 | M1.0 |
| Last geomagnetic storm | 2024/12/17 | Kp5+ (G1) |
| Spotless days | |
|---|---|
| Last spotless day | 2022/06/08 |
| Monthly mean Sunspot Number | |
|---|---|
| November 2024 | 152.5 -13.9 |
| December 2024 | 106.6 -45.9 |
| Last 30 days | 116.1 -41.8 |