Notice to lovers of the Northern Lights. During the night of Sunday March 24 to Monday March 25, 2024, one of them might well be visible in France if conditions permit. In Meurthe-et-Moselle, an astrophotographer is getting ready. He tells us why.
“A large solar flare occurred last night“, explains Valentin Severin, astrophotographer, located in Audun-le-Roman in Meurthe-et-Moselle. “The sun expelled many particles towards the Earth. They might arrive next night, March 24 to 25“.
Valentin tient ses informations du site de la National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States evaluates disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field and thereby estimates the probability of seeing an aurora depending on the geographic area.
“This is a complete halo eruption. And on the NOAA models, we can clearly see the impact of the coronal mass arriving between 6 p.m. and midnight.“A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a gigantic cloud of plasma expelled by the sun during strong flares.
It might even happen this evening according to the latest information on a specialized site, Valentin tells us around 4:30 p.m. today. The site SpaceWeatherLive published this information: “LThe CME is much, much faster than expected and a solar wind speed of 800 km/s is observed at the moment. A Moderate G2 Geomagnetic Storm Warning is in effect until 9 UTC tomorrow“
For amateurs, there is also valuable information on the site Aurora-maniacs.com. Space weather is not very accurate. We can therefore expect an aurora borealis visible in France around 3 or 4 a.m. if the conditions are right.
“We are in a full moon period which brightens the sky, but there should be few clouds tonight“, tells us Valentin Severin.
Valentin Séverin and his friend Thomas Rossi are getting ready to go out tonight. They study the weather forecast which for the moment indicates clear skies. They prepare their observation and photography equipment. “We empty the memory cards and put the batteries on charge. We are looking at the NOAA website to see how things are evolving. We prepare a tent. If the aurora borealis happens, we don’t want to miss it. The last time I saw it from my window, the time went to the field next door, I missed it.“The two friends will also examine the information relayed by space probes which capture the variations of particles in space.”This allows us to anticipate the phenomenon by regarding an hour.“
They will also watch a network of webcams across Europe which will allow them to see the dawn descending on France. “It is very complicated to observe the Northern Lights. It may arrive before or following forecasts. You have to know how to be there at the right time.“
2024 and 2025 will see solar activity intensify. It is a cycle of 11 years on average observed for centuries. Usually, the northern lights, more green in color, are reserved for polar regions. Thanks to this peak of activity, it will be possible, with a little luck, to see the northern lights, orange-red in color, in France.
