Latest news with #NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration
India Today
15 hours ago
- Climate
- India Today
Aurora alert: Rare Borealis display predicted over US due to geomagnetic storm
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted increased Northern Lights activity for Thursday night, forecasting a Kp index of 5 out of 9. This means the aurora borealis may intensify and become visible farther south than on NOAA's three-day space weather forecast, geomagnetic activity is expected to increase Thursday evening and continue into the early hours of Friday, with minor to moderate geomagnetic storms AURORA VISIBILITY LIKELY TO DECLINEWhile auroral activity peaks Thursday night, NOAA expects space weather to calm by Friday and Saturday. The Kp index will dip slightly, just above 3 on Friday then drop to 2 on Saturday, reducing the likelihood of widespread aurora sightings over the TO SEE THE LIGHTS? According to Forbes, a "view line" passes through several northern US states. Areas with a chance to see the aurora include parts of northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan. Northern parts of New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine may also experience faint activity under perfect TO MAXIMISE YOUR VIEWING EXPERIENCE To boost your chances of seeing the aurora, NOAA recommends heading to high-altitude northern locations with minimal light best viewing window is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, under clear for Capturing the Aurora on CameraPhotographers advise using a wide-angle lens with aperture f/4 or lower. The ISO and shutter speeds need to be adjusted according to the aurora's users should enable night mode, use a tripod, and turn off the flash to enhance image clarity.
Forbes
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Forbes
Northern Lights Alert: Some States Could See Aurora Borealis Thursday
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday some geomagnetic storms will likely disrupt Earth's magnetic field soon, which could make the northern lights visible in several states tonight. TK NOAA forecast a Kp index of five on a scale of nine for Thursday night, suggesting the northern lights will become brighter as they become more active while moving farther from the poles. Thursday's auroral forecast will likely increase through the night and into Friday morning, when some 'minor' or greater geomagnetic storms are expected, according to NOAA's three-day forecast. Calmer auroral activity is expected through Saturday night, with a maximum Kp index of just over three and two for Friday and Saturday, respectively, NOAA's projections suggest. The northern lights have the highest chance of being seen throughout Canada, with a minimal opportunity—marked by a 'view line'—forecast through northern Iowa and other northern states. A lesser chance is expected in northern Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, with a near-zero chance forecast for parts of northern Wyoming, South Dakota, northern Iowa, northern New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. While Alaska is forecast with a high likelihood, the state won't be dark enough at the time. (See map below.) Thursday's view line. NOAA recommends traveling to the north and finding a high, north-facing vantage point away from light pollution. If in the right area in optimal weather conditions, the aurora borealis can be visible even with lower geomagnetic activity, including a Kp index of three or four, the agency said, noting the northern lights are best seen within at least two hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. Photography experts told National Geographic a wide-angle lens and an aperture or F-stop of four or lower are recommended, though other settings like ISO and shutter speed will likely need to be adjusted depending on the strength of the aurora borealis. With a smartphone, the experts suggest using a tripod to stabilize the image long enough to capture the northern lights displays. They also recommend disabling flash and enabling night mode. An increase in northern lights displays throughout the U.S. follows a peak in solar activity reached in October 2024, NOAA and NASA said. This peak features more solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which produce the northern lights as electrons from these events collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth's atmosphere. Though the northern lights can be seen throughout the year, they are most visible between late September and March when nights are longer, experts said.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Glassy seas' reveal largest animal on Earth off the CA coast. See ‘real prize'
Boaters off the coast of California got the chance to see the biggest animal on Earth and the group is calling it a 'once in a lifetime' moment. On June 16, the group set out on the 'misty (P)acific with limited visibility' but with 'all the hope in the world' before eventually coming across a baby humpback whale along with some dolphin friends, according to a Facebook post by San Diego Whale Watch. Later, the skies cleared up, creating 'glassy seas' that revealed a pod of 'curious' bottlenose dolphins that would 'zoom up to the bow swimming with their bellies pointed at the boat,' the group said. Then the showstoppers decided to make an appearance – a mama blue whale, the biggest animal on Earth, and her calf, bystanders said. The group even got the chance to see the 'breathtaking' 25-foot span of the tail in the 'rare' sighting, onlookers said. A baby blue whale is the 'world's biggest' baby, being born at 23 feet and weighing in at 6,000 pounds, the group said. They'll gain 10 pounds per hour by drinking their mama's milk. Blue whales can weigh up to 330,000 pounds and grow to 110 feet long, making their length about the same as the height of a 10-story building, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They can live up to 90 years, though there was one that famously lived to be 110 years old, according to the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation. The group said 'blue whales are super rare and never a sure thing' even to the point where 'not too long ago' researchers thought they could be extinct, which made for this sighting to be a 'real prize,' the post said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Sun releases a powerful solar flare. But don't expect unusual northern lights in US
The sun has emitted a powerful solar flare that has the capability to interfere with technology on Earth. The explosive burst of radiation peaked on the evening of Tuesday, June 17, matching the intensity of the first of two solar flares detected in May. This particular flare wasn't accompanied by a geomagnetic storm that can strike Earth's magnetic field and trigger the northern lights. But because the flare occurred on the sun's Earth-facing side, a potential exists for things like radio communications, electric power grids and navigation signals to be disrupted, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Reports have already surfaced of a shortwave radio blackout centered over the Pacific Ocean that was especially strong over Hawaii, according to NOAA. NASA also captured an image of the sun's bright energy burst, which it shared in a blog post. Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released into space, creating intense bursts of radiation. These flares are often associated with solar magnetic storms known as coronal mass ejections and can sometimes be as strong as a billion hydrogen bombs. Solar flares can last mere minutes, or can drag on for hours, depending on their intensity. NASA classifies solar flares based on their strength, with A-class being the smallest and X-class – which is what was recently detected – being the largest. Each letter represents a ten-fold increase in energy output and includes a scale of 1 to 9 in each class. The exception is the X-class since there are flares that have been recorded exceeding 10 times the power of an X-1. In May 2024, the largest solar flare since 2017 was detected, ranking at an X-8.7 magnitude. Then in 2025, a May 13 flare was classified as an X-1.2 flare, while another the following day was listed as an X-2.7 flare. But the most powerful flare measured with modern methods was in 2003. The event was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it, cutting out at X-28, according to NASA. Solar flares and other solar activity, such as solar storms, increase every 11 years as the sun reaches the height of its 11-year cycle, the solar maximum, which last occurred in late 2024. The flare detected recently was also classified as an X-1.2 magnitude, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which observes the sun, was able to capture an image of the event, which the agency said peaked at around 5:49 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 17. Solar flares emit radiation, mostly in the form of ultraviolet light and X-rays, that can hurtle toward Earth at the speed of light. Some of these flares can be accompanied by coronal mass ejections, or clouds of plasma and charged particles, that emerge from the sun's outermost atmosphere, the corona. These ejections can collide with Earth's magnetosphere, the barrier protecting humanity from the harshest impacts of space weather, to produce geomagnetic storms that not only pose a hazard to Earthly technologies, but play a role in unleashing northern lights. But because this powerful flare was not accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, don't expect any unusual aurora activity. The Space Weather Prediction Center tracks the northern lights through an online dashboard. Weaker solar flares won't be noticeable here on Earth. But those with enough energy output to rank as an X-class have the potential to disrupt satellites, communications systems, and even ground-based technologies like electric power grids if directed at our planet. In extreme cases, powerful flares even pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts, according to NASA. About a year ago in May 2024, a historically powerful geomagnetic storm was responsible for some reports of power grid irregularities and interference with GPS signals – even farming equipment. On the bright side, it also unleashed spectacular views of the northern lights in parts of the country where auroras are not often visible. In this case, a rapid, intense flash of electromagnetic energy ranked as an R3 on NOAA's scale, making it strong enough to disrupt radio signals on the sunlit side of the planet. Ham radio operators around Hawaii may have noticed a loss of signal at frequencies below 25 MHz, according to Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA captures image of powerful solar flare: See photo
2 days ago
- Health
Coastal areas with high microplastic levels linked to higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke
Coastal counties with very high marine microplastic levels had higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke compared to coastal counties with lower marine microplastic levels, according to a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces measuring less than 5 millimeters in length -- approximately the size of a pencil eraser -- that result from the breakdown of larger plastic debris such as plastic bags, bottles, personal care products and synthetic microfibers, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Microplastics accumulate in the ocean and are ingested by fish and other marine organisms, potentially exposing them -- and consequently humans -- to toxic chemicals. "Pathways such as contaminated seafood, drinking water, and even air inhalation could allow marine microplastics to enter the human body, making this a population-wide exposure risk with measurable health consequences," Dr. Sarju Ganatra, senior author on the study and medical director of sustainability and vice chair of research in the Department of Medicine at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, told ABC News. The study was conducted using the National Centers for Environmental Information's geodatabase with marine microplastic levels recorded from 2015 to 2020 for counties within 200 nautical miles of the U.S. coastal margin. Counties were then grouped into those with low (0-0.005 pieces/m3), medium (0.005-1pieces/m3), high (1-10 pieces/ m3), and very high (>10 pieces/ m3) marine microplastic levels. The rates of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in these counties were then obtained using the 2022 CDC Population-Level Analysis and Community Estimates dataset and the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. Among 152 coastal counties studied, those with very high levels of marine microplastics showed higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and stroke -- at 18%, 7% and 9%, respectively -- among adults with an average age of 43 years. This was true even after adjusting for race, access to doctors, socioeconomic status and environmental factors. Studies examining potential links between microplastics and cardiometabolic diseases are relatively new, and this study suggests that on a population-based level, there may be an association between microplastic exposure and chronic health conditions. Microplastics may trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and blood vessel damage, which can increase the risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to emerging research. "One study found individuals with microplastics in carotid plaques had a higher risk of myocardial infarction and stroke … [and] animal models demonstrate that microplastics induce insulin resistance, vascular inflammation, oxidative stress, myocardial injury … all of which are implicated in cardiometabolic diseases," Ganatra wrote. This latest study only examined marine microplastic levels and did not include groundwater or other potential sources. Additionally, researchers will need to conduct additional studies to allow for comparisons between rates of cardiometabolic diseases in coastal versus noncoastal counties with varying levels of marine microplastics. "The findings should ring alarm bells for all regions, given the pervasive presence of microplastics in our water, food, air, and packaging materials … These findings support a unified public health and environmental response -- integrating climate action, pollution mitigation, and chronic disease prevention under a 'One Health' framework," Ganatra added.
