WASHINGTON, United States — Anyone who missed the dazzling auroras dancing across night skies earlier this weekend will get another chance Sunday evening, as the powerful geomagnetic storm hitting the Earth is expected to intensify yet again.
“Several intense Coronal Mass Ejections are still anticipated to reach the Earth’s outer atmosphere by later today,” the US National Weather Service said.
Those ejections — expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun, known as CMEs — have since Friday produced spectacular celestial shows across swaths of the Earth, far from the extreme latitudes where the auroras are normally seen.
But while many vie wers have been disappointed — at times because of overcast skies — the latest prediction suggests their third time might just prove lucky.
The latest CMEs are expected to reach Earth late Sunday or early Monday, “causing severe or extreme geomagnetic storms once again and (offering) a very good chance to see magnificent aurorae much further south than normal,” said Keith Ryden, who heads the Surrey Space Centre in England.
Or as one self-described “lighthunter” suggested on social media platform X, “Keep those pants on, coffee thermoses filled to the brim and fingers crossed!”
But scientists said the intensity of anything se en Sunday night might not reach the level of Friday’s show.
“This is likely the last of the Earth-directed CMEs from this particular monster sunspot,” Mathew Owens, a professor of space phy sics at the University of Reading, in England, told AFP.
Still, overall, he added, “the intensity o f it has taken all of us by surprise.”
A geomagnetic storm warning remains in effect until 2:00 am (0600 GMT) Monday, said the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), with auroras possible as far south as New York, northern Iowa and Washington State.
Friday saw the first “extreme” geomagnetic storm since the “Halloween Storms” of October 2003 that caused blackouts in Sweden and damaged power infrastructure in South Africa.
Excitement over the phenomenon — and otherworldly photos of pink, green and purple night skies — popped up across the world, from Mont Saint-Michel on the French coast to Australia’s island state of Tasmania.
Late Saturday evening, pictures again trickled onto social media as people in the United States reported sightings, though not as strong as Friday night’s.
When charged particles from solar winds are captured by Earth’s magnetic field, they accelerate towards the planet’s magnetic poles, which is why auroras are normally seen there. But during periods of heightened solar activity, the effects extend farther toward the equator.
No major disruptions to power or communications networks appear to have been reported this time around.
But China’s National Center for Space Weather issued a “red alert” Saturday, warning that communications and navigation could be affected in much of the country, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Unlike solar flares, which travel at the speed of light and reach Earth in around eight minutes, CMEs travel at a more sedate pace, with officials putting the current average at 800 kilometers (500 miles) per second.
People with eclipse glasses can look for the sunspot cluster during the day.
NOAA’s Brent Gordon encouraged the public to try to capture the night sky with phone cameras even if they couldn’t see auroras with their naked eyes.
“You’d be amazed at what you see in that picture,” he said.
Fluctuating magnetic fields associated with geomagnetic storms induce currents in long wires, including power lines, which can lead to blackouts. Long pipelines can also become electrified.
Spacecraft are at risk from high doses of radiation, although the atmosphere prevents this from reaching Earth.
NASA can ask astronauts on the International Space Station to move to better-shielded places within the outpost.
Even pigeons and other species that have internal biological compasses can be affected.
PARIS – Kylian Mbappe scored on his final home appearance as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Sunday (Monday Manila time), but the French champions suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat against Toulouse on the night they picked up the Ligue 1 championship trophy.
Mbappe confirmed in a video posted on social media on Friday that he would be leaving PSG when his contract expires at the end of the season, ending a seven-year association with the club.
Real Madrid is expected to be the next destination for a player whose departure from Paris had been an open secret since February, when he privately informed the club of his intention to move on.
Mbappe wore the captain’s armband and opened the scoring early on against Toulouse to take his tally for the season to 44 goals in all competitions.
However, Thijs Dallinga quickly equalized for the visitors against a PSG side, which showed 10 changes to the team knocked out of the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals in midweek, with Mbappe the only player to keep his place.
Yann Gboho put Toulouse ahead with a brilliant strike in the second half, and Frank Magri wrapped up the win in stoppage time as PSG suffered just their second Ligue 1 loss this season, and their first in 27 games since September.
Mbappe has now scored 256 times for PSG, a club-record tally, since signing from Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros ($194 million).
His tally of 191 goals in France’s top flight — including 16 with Monaco at the beginning of his career — puts him in seventh place in the all-time list. Coach Luis Enrique described the 25-year-old as “a club legend” when he spoke to media on the eve of the game.
PSG had indicated that celebrations after Sunday’s match would be dedicated to their title triumph, rather than any specific tribute to Mbappe himself.
There were even some jeers from the crowd for the striker when the teams were read out before the game, although a huge display was unfurled before kick-off at one end of the stadium depicting Mbappe in a trademark pose with his arms folded.
“I heard applause, the supporters paid him a deserved tribute, he is a club legend despite his youth,” said Luis Enrique who described the banner as “beautiful”.
The Qatar-owned club had already wrapped up a record-extending 12th French title, and 10th in 12 years, before hosting a Toulouse side who were themselves safe from any lingering threat of relegation.
PSG’s Champions League disappointment means Mbappe will leave the club without ever having got his hands on European football’s greatest prize.
With Mbappe, PSG were runners-up in 2020 and have since reached the last four on two further occasions, but the France captain will now hope to finally get his hands on the trophy at his next club.
PSG can still finish the season by completing a clean sweep of domestic honours, as they face Lyon in the French Cup final in Lyon on May 25.
As well as Ligue 1, they have also already won the Champions Trophy, France’s equivalent of a Super Cup.
Luis Enrique’s team will complete their league campaign with a visit to Nice on Wednesday before going to Metz in their final game next Sunday.
Elsewhere, Mbappe’s first club Monaco clinched second place and automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League with a 2-0 win away at Montpellier.
Lille moved up into third place above Brest on goal difference as Jonathan David netted twice in their 2-1 win at Nantes.
The top three in Ligue 1 qualify directly for next season’s expanded, 36-team Champions League with the team finishing fourth entering the competition in the preliminary rounds.
Nice are fifth and trail both Lille and Brest by four points but still have a chance of a top-four place before hosting PSG in midweek.
Lens drew 1-1 at Rennes to hold onto sixth, while Orel Mangala’s goal gave Lyon a 1-0 win at Clermont as they kept their European hopes alive.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Marseille beat Lorient 3-1 to also remain in the European picture.
At the bottom, Clermont’s defeat means they are relegated, while Lorient are almost certainly down too as they trail Metz by three points with one game left and have an inferior goal difference.
Metz, who lost 2-1 at Strasbourg, are therefore set to go into a playoff against a team from Ligue 2 with a top-flight place for next season on the line.