Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The sun sent out ten bright flashes of light in one day. These flashes are called solar flares.
One flare was very strong. Scientists call it an X class flare.
The sun also sent clouds of gas toward Earth. These clouds can make colorful lights in the sky.
People in the north of the United States might see the northern lights around July 4.
- sun
- the star at the center of our solar system
- flare
- a sudden burst of bright light and energy
- cloud of gas
- a large group of gas particles moving through space
- northern lights
- colorful lights that appear in the night sky, mostly near the North Pole
- sky
- the space above the Earth where clouds and stars appear
- scientist
- a person who studies how things in the world work
- strong
- having a lot of power or force
- weekend
- Saturday and Sunday, the end of the week
Level 2 — Elementary
The sun let out ten solar flares in just twenty four hours this week, including one very powerful X class flare, one of the strongest kinds of flares the sun can produce.
Along with the flares, the sun released several coronal mass ejections, huge clouds of charged particles that travel out into space and can reach Earth's atmosphere.
When these particles reach Earth, they can cause a geomagnetic storm, which pushes the colorful northern lights, also called auroras, farther south than usual.
Forecasters say the storm could make the northern lights visible in northern US states like New York, Wisconsin and Washington around the July Fourth holiday weekend, if the sky stays clear and dark.
- coronal mass ejection
- a large release of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's outer layer
- charged particle
- a tiny piece of matter that carries an electric charge
- atmosphere
- the layer of gases surrounding a planet
- geomagnetic storm
- a temporary disturbance in Earth's magnetic field, often caused by solar activity
- aurora
- a natural light display in the sky, usually seen near the poles
- forecaster
- a person who predicts future events, such as weather or space weather
- visible
- able to be seen
- holiday weekend
- a weekend that includes or is near a public holiday
Level 3 — Intermediate
The sun unleashed ten M class solar flares within a twenty four hour span this week, including an X1.1 flare on June 30, among the more intense categories of solar activity that space weather agencies track.
Several of these eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, from an active sunspot region designated 4479, with multiple ejections forecast to reach Earth in stages between July 3 and July 6.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects the resulting geomagnetic activity to reach G1 to G2 storm levels, moderate on the five step scale used to measure disturbances in Earth's magnetic field.
If conditions align, forecasters say auroras could become visible as far south as New York, Wisconsin and Washington state, though the intensity and reach of any display will ultimately depend on the strength and magnetic orientation of the incoming CMEs when they arrive.
- M class flare
- a mid-strength category of solar flare, weaker than an X class flare but stronger than a C class flare
- sunspot
- a temporary dark, cooler region on the sun's surface associated with strong magnetic activity
- active region
- an area on the sun with concentrated magnetic activity, often linked to flares and eruptions
- NOAA
- the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks weather and space weather
- storm level
- a rating used to describe the intensity of a geomagnetic disturbance
- magnetic orientation
- the direction in which a magnetic field points
- intensity
- the strength or degree of something
- disturbance
- a disruption or change to the normal state of something
Level 4 — Advanced
The sun produced ten M class solar flares within a single twenty four hour interval this week, capped by an X1.1 eruption on June 30, placing the episode among the more energetic bursts of solar activity that space weather agencies have logged this cycle.
Several of the eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections originating from active region 4479, with successive CMEs forecast to arrive at Earth in staggered pulses between July 3 and July 6, complicating efforts to predict the storm's cumulative effect.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center anticipates resulting geomagnetic conditions in the G1 to G2 range, a moderate tier on the five step scale used to classify disturbances to Earth's magnetosphere, sufficient to push auroral visibility well beyond its typical high-latitude confines.
Should conditions align favorably, skywatchers across northern US states, including New York, Wisconsin and Washington, could glimpse the aurora, though forecasters caution that the ultimate intensity and geographic reach hinge substantially on the incoming CMEs' embedded magnetic field orientation, a variable that remains difficult to characterize with precision until the ejecta are within roughly an hour of arrival.
- interval
- a period of time between two events
- cumulative
- increasing or building up as more things are added
- magnetosphere
- the region around a planet dominated by its magnetic field
- high-latitude
- relating to regions far from the equator, closer to the poles
- confine
- the limit or boundary within which something is contained
- geographic reach
- the extent of area over which something extends or is felt
- embedded
- fixed firmly within something, as a structural part of it
- ejecta
- material that has been thrown out or expelled, such as solar plasma
