A plasma cloud from a recent flare has reached Earth and struck our planet’s magnetic field, today – October 12. The shock caused a Kr6 (red level) geomagnetic storm. Auroras spread across northern Europe, Iceland, Canada and several US states.
In Maine, the auroras were so bright that meteorologist James Cinco was able to photograph them using only his cell phone.
“I took this picture on my Samsung Galaxy S20FE,” Cinco says.
In Saskatchewan, Frank Lang used a professional camera.
“These are the best colors we’ve seen in years in Saskatoon,” he says.
Solar wind speeds increased sharply by 120 km/sec with the arrival of the wave. At the same time, the plasma density tripled and the temperature increased almost 10-fold.
