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Community Corner

Solar Weather Could Provide Show over Hatboro and Horsham

The Aurora Borealis isn't typically seen as far south as the Philadelphia region, but a powerful Tuesday evening solar flare could cause its local appearance before the weekend.

Wednesday's forecast for the greater Philadelphia region calls for the most beautiful day of the year to date, with clear skies and temperatures in the 60s. Don't let the warm sun fool you, though. The weather there right now is quite nasty.

A massive sunspot region on the Sun, known as AR1429, has been belching solar material out into space for some time but has increased its output this week. After one strong solar flare on Sunday, AR1429 erupted at 7:24 p.m. Tuesday with the second strongest flare of the current solar cycle, which began in January 2008.

The Tuesday flare prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center to issue a brief radio blackout warning for sunlit areas of the Earth. It was not immediately clear late Tuesday night whether any radio communications had been impacted by the flare.

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Unlike the Sunday flare, the flare that erupted Tuesday could put Earth in the line of fire for part of the stream of solar material that was sent into space. This material, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), could strike the planet anytime between 24 and 72 hours after the flare.

If we're lucky, the most noticeable effect could be a spectacular example of the Aurora Borealis, or "Northern Lights." This incredible light show takes place when charged particles in the solar wind collide with the planet's magnetic field in the upper reaches of our atmosphere. It's usually reserved for people who live north of 60 degrees north latitude (see the video for an example), but CMEs directly striking the Earth have been known to produce auroras as far south as Texas. So keep your eyes peeled after dark tonight and Thursday.

Find out what's happening in Hatboro-Horshamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Auroras are beautiful, but solar flares are serious business, which is why the NOAA monitors them. The geomagnetic storm associated with a 1989 solar flare knocked out power to most of Quebec, Canada. After that incident, most electrical utilties upgraded their systems to help protect their power grids from solar activity, but disruptions remain possible. Satellites that provide weather images and GPS signals could also be affected.

Regardless of the measures taken by authorities, a solar flare of sufficient strength could wreak havoc on our technological infrastructure. Scientists estimate a 1-in-8 chance of such a flare hitting the Earth by 2020.

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