Last Updated on May 16, 2024 by Owen Fullerton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The aurora borealis lit up the sky in Kingston and other areas over the weekend, with powerful solar storms causing a uniquely vibrant northern light show in parts of the US, Canada, and Europe.
The phenomenon is caused by the sun essentially recycling material from its core which is sometimes launched towards earth, where it interacts with chemicals within the earth’s atmosphere.
Typically, the lights seen are a greenish colour because the bulk of our atmosphere consists of nitrogen.
Normally when visible, the lights can only be seen in areas closer to the north and south poles, but the weekend solar storm was powerful enough that the lights were visible and bright near urban centres including Kingston.
Dr. Nikhil Arora (coincidence), from Queen’s Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, says that the sun’s magnetic properties change over a roughly 11 year cycle, and we are in what is expected to be a 5.5 year period of high solar storm and flare activity.
There have been other incidences recently when the aurora could be viewed in more southern than usual areas, and it’s possible there could be future opportunities as we’ve entered solar maximum.
“We find that the magnetic properties of the sun actually change over a cycle of 11 years or so,” Dr. Arora.
“We are entering that peak, which is called the solar maximum… so we are expecting to see many more of these solar storms and solar flares from the sun.”
Some experts have said the weekend storm was the strongest they’ve seen since 2005, hence the vibrancy of the lights.
One Kingston resident who went to Camden Lake to get a better view the lights said they were so strong at their peak that they were lighting up the ground and people’s faces, and wildlife was much more vocal during the peak.
Dr. Arora said while there have been times in recent history when the lights were set to be visible from Kingston and other urban areas, the skies have been too cloudy to clearly view them.
Many places in southern Ontario couldn’t see the lights due to cloud cover, but the Kingston area had a relatively unobstructed view.
