Twin Solar Storms = Northern Lights Galore!

While the planet is bombarded with charged solar particles, this translates into some fantastic Northern Lights displays for Iceland.

The Guardian reports today that two coronal mass ejection (CME) bursts from the Sun sent charged solar particles hurtling towards Earth yesterday and today, “raising concerns that GPS signals, radio communications and power transmissions” could be scrambled.

On the brighter side, the Guardian also speculates that the “storms might also trigger beautiful auroral displays along northern latitudes as electrically charged solar particles hit the atmosphere.”

As it turns out, they are absolutely right.

As can be seen on the Icelandic Met Office’s Northern Lights page, there is considerable aurora activity over a wide swath of southwest Iceland. At the same time, clear skies are in the forecast for this evening.

There is, of course, no guarantee that you might see Northern Lights in the capital area tonight – but the chances are very good that you will.