'Massive' solar flare expected to light up Alberta sky Friday
![Northern lights over southern Alberta Northern lights over southern Alberta in early November. (Photo: Matt Melnyk)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/11/30/northern-lights-over-southern-alberta-1-6668647-1701404065988.jpg)
A “Cannibal CME” is approaching the earth, and while it sounds sinister, it actually is a good sign that a dazzling aurora light show could kick off December.
CME is short for Corona Mass Ejection and NASA describes them as “clouds of electrified, magnetic gas weighing billions of tons.”
These CME’s are ejected from the sun and launched into space at rapid speeds ranging from 20 to 2,000 kilometers per second.
“[Tuesday] there was a massive solar flare and it launched directly towards us at a faster speed and it’s going to swallow up the [solar flares] in front of it,” explained Matt Melnyk, an avid aurora chaser and pilot in Calgary. “So it’s eating the other ones in front of it and making itself stronger and powerful.”
It’s difficult to determine exactly when this Cannibal CME will make contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, but it’s anticipated it could happen as early as Thursday evening, with the big show on Friday night.
It’s difficult to determine exactly when this Cannibal CME will make contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, but it’s anticipated the aurora will be at its most intense Thursday evening heading into Friday morning.
The aurora should also be visible on Friday night into Saturday as well.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses a KP-Index (KPI) to monitor the level of disturbance (geomagnetic activity) these solar flares have on the Earth’s magnetic field.
The KPI ranges from zero (quiet) to nine (intense storm).
The higher the KPI typically results in a longer latitude of visibility in the northern hemisphere, though sometimes the relationship doesn’t always hold up.
The KPI for this upcoming CME is expected to be a seven (strong storm).
That means there is a high likeliness this aurora will be bright, energetic and colourful and could extend down into the United States.
SOLAR MAXIMUM
“Here in Calgary, you’ll be able to view the auroras directly overhead and south which is not normal our location at all,” said Melnyk. “Which means people in Colorado could see it, possibly even California.”
Right now the forecast over Calgary is showing mostly cloudy conditions for Thursday night, but there are encouraging signs of clearing conditions as we get into Friday and Saturday.
Even if Calgarians miss out on this latest aurora event, Melnyk says we are just getting started when it comes to these kinds of sightings in the sky as this cycle doesn’t hit its solar maximum until 2025.
“We are climbing our way towards solar maximum so these kinds of events are going to become more frequent, more often and we are going to have many, many opportunities to witness these aurora.”
If you capture any shots of this upcoming aurora feel free to send them our way at calgaryweatherpics@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6970035.1721392588!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Widespread tech outage affects Canadian airports, hospitals and border crossings
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
LIVE UPDATES Here's the latest on Canadian impacts of the global IT outage
The latest developments on the Canadian impacts of the global technology outage that is causing massive disruptions to companies and services around the world.
BREAKING LCBO reaches tentative agreement to end strike, stores could reopen Tuesday
The LCBO has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing approximately 10,000 of its employees, paving the way for stores to reopen as early as Tuesday.
Canadian families will receive more in their next Canada Child Benefit payment. Here's why
Canadian families receiving Canada Child Benefit program payments can expect more cash in their cheques this Friday.
Ontario woman says she was sold 'crumbling' house despite home inspection
As an Ontario woman put away her China dishes after Christmas Dinner in 2018, she noticed her cabinet doors refused to shut.
Recalled plant-based milk brands must rebuild trust by apologizing: marketers
Marketing experts say two brands that recently had to recall plant-based milk contaminated with Listeria can come back from the deadly outbreak, but they must move quickly to regain consumer trust.
Cape Breton moose hunting suspended for 3 years due to 'significant' drop in population
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
Trudeau taps MacKinnon to be new labour minister, ahead of cabinet meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
Thinking about getting a tattoo? New research might change your mind
Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.