The massive sunspot identified as AR1654, which is spewing solar flares, has scientists saying that a portion of a coronal mass ejection is expected to brush Earth’s magnetic field, creating what observers say are bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.
Already, scientists say, the CME’s arrival on the solar winds is creating auroras arcing across the skies of northern Scandinavia.
Scientists from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration say this reveals the potential for a solar storm maximum as the sun approaches the height of its latest 11-year cycle this year and next.