Tonight’s potentially severe geomagnetic storm could bring the dazzling beauty of the northern lights as far south as Alabama and California — but it might also bring communication disruptions to areas where service is already sparse due to recent hurricanes.
Also: How to use Android’s emergency satellite texting if you lose cell signal
On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published a forecast for an extreme geomagnetic storm that will hit Earth Thursday evening (Oct. 10) into Friday morning (Oct. 11). This means two things: The iconic northern lights will possibly be visible much farther south than usual, and already strained technology systems might get worse.
Here’s what you need to know about seeing the northern lights and other possible storm impacts.
How to see or photograph the northern lights
You might be disappointed if you’re expecting to truly see the lights. For the most part, they’ll only be visible with a cell phone camera using Night Mode (a long exposure of five to 10 seconds). If you’re attempting to do this, make sure you use your phone’s main lens (not a super wide or zoom) and a tripod, or place your phone on a stable surface for best results.
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You’ll know you’re seeing the northern lights if you capture shimmering colors of greens, reds, and purples.
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The best time for visibility, NOAA says, will likely be between 10 p.m. ET and 2 a.m. ET, from a high vantage point in areas with as little light pollution as possible. This display is expected to be slightly weaker than May’s outbreak, but still visible over much of the US.
How Thursday’s solar storm could impact technology
These storms pose no direct threat to humans, but they can impact electronic devices. Because of the way the storm interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, radio – and more importantly, satellite signals – can have a much shorter range.
Also: How to use your iPhone’s emergency satellite features if you lose cell coverage
In many parts of the country where cell towers are down and power is out because of hurricanes Helene and Milton, satellite texting has become the only form of communication. That connection is already moderate at best – if this geomagnetic storm has any impact, it will get worse.
The impact of the storm is only an estimate, as scientists won’t know the true results until the storm actually hits satellites.
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Source: Networking - zdnet.com
