The northern lights painted the skies of Mexico City, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Baja California, Durango, Sonora, and Zacatecas; A natural light phenomenon that occurs in the Earth’s atmosphere, especially in countries near the North Pole. The light show during the night of this Tuesday, November 11, which will prevail in the afternoon of Wednesday, the 12, is caused by a solar storm or an intense global geomagnetic storm, resulting from a coronal mass ejection – an explosion of plasma and magnetic field – from the Sun, the National Space Weather Laboratory of the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) reported via a statement on its Facebook page. “No effects on human health or other organisms are expected. Potential impacts are limited to sensitive technological systems,” the report said.
The impacts on technological systems that UNAM refers to in its statement are: high-frequency radio communications (aeronautical, maritime and operational services); Satellite positioning systems (GPS and GNSS) that will affect accuracy and synchronization; Communications and surveillance satellites, and large electrical grids (infrastructure responsible for transporting large amounts of energy over long distances).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that a Category G4 geomagnetic storm, which is considered severe, was caused by a Category
In 2020, NASA announced that the Sun ended its 11-year cycle in December 2019 and began a new one. “It is expected to increase in activity until it peaks in July 2025; it will be a below-average cycle, but not without risks,” physicist Doug Biesecker, a solar physicist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said at the time.
The lights will be visible during the afternoon of Wednesday the 12th, especially in the northern states and Baguio. For example, the Astronomical Society of Nuevo León reported, on its Facebook page, that the phenomenon can be seen with the naked eye in the municipality of Garcia. In the rest of the country, it is recommended to stay away from large cities and wait for clear skies. In addition to Mexico, the aurora borealis also painted the skies of the United States, as is the case in New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho and South Dakota.
About The Author
