~Space Weather Update~ CME IMPACT~ Incoming Love Codes~ Wind Speed 435
CME IMPACT: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field at 0617 UT on Jan. 22nd. At first the impact did not appear to be a strong one: the solar wind speed barely lifted itself to ~400 km/s when the CME passed by. Now, however, in the wake of the CME, a dense and increasingly geoeffective solar wind stream is blowing around Earth, setting the stage for possible auroras on the night of Jan. 22nd. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
A surge of ground currents in Lofoton, Norway, signaled the CME's arrival, but the impact occurred as the sun was rising--too late for European sky watchers to spy the Northern Lights. In Canada, however, there was a window of visibility:
"It was very cloudy at Lake Laberge north of Whitehorse, but we just happened to get 10 minutes of clear sky not long after the CME hit," reports Phil Hart from the Yukon. "A green corona appeared directly overhead."
