There's an active region (AR3664) currently on the surface of the Sun, comparable in size to the active region from 1895, when a strong geomagnetic storm known as the Carrington Event occurred. Several of the strongest eruptions, the so-called X-class, have occurred in active region AR3664, and eruptions are expected to continue, creating a strong solar wind composed of charged particles that move towards Earth at high speeds (around 600 km/s) and bombard the upper layers of the atmosphere. Earth's magnetic field slows them down and protects the surface. However, the reflection of these impacts can be seen as polar lights, which can usually only be seen around the poles. With such strong impacts, polar lights can also be seen from lower latitudes, and due to several eruptions it could be seen from our country too. Attached is the photograph from the Astronomical Station Vidojevica near Prokuplje.
SOURCE: Astronomical Observatory Belgrade, Scientific Research Unit for Monitoring Solar Activity, Climate Change, and Light Pollution. Photo: Polar lights as seen from the Astronomical Station Vidojevica near Prokuplje on the night between May 10 and 11, 2024 (authors: Marko Grozdanović and Milica Dimitrijević).
