Your Questions / Answered
"Will it be possible to see the aurora from Kent tonight (17 Feb 2011)?"
Roger, Kent, UK
The last time we had aurora clearly visible from northern England (Lancaster) was in January 2005 and that followed an X-ray solar flare classed as an X7.
On Tuesday 15 Feb 2011 (at about 2am) we had the biggest solar X-ray flare that we have had for something like 4 years. It was an X2 class flare, that means the energy flux was greater than 0.002 Watts per square metre.
This flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, which is currently travelling through interplanetary space and our best guess is that it is heading straight towards Earth. If and when it hits it could trigger a geomagnetic storm. If the CME has a large southward magnetic field component it might lead to conditions ripe for aurora over mid-latitudes (i.e. the UK).
The important words there are 'if', 'might' and 'could'. Nothing is guaranteed although this is the best chance for quite some time. The CME is still yet to strike so we don't know how big a storm we might experience; however it will need to be a severe storm for the northern lights to be visible from Kent and I suspect that is unlikely. The timing of the impact is also not favourable as it is likely to hit around 9 GMT on the 18th February - daylight!
I suspect that if any aurora is to be seen from the UK for this event it will be from Scotland or Northern Ireland. But this recent activity is an indication that solar activity is increasing as the next next solar maximum (2013) approaches, so the chances of seeing the aurora over the UK will continue to increase for the next couple of years.
Dr Andrew Kavanagh, Physics Department, Lancaster University.
"Where and when can I see the northern lights or aurora borealis?"
,
This is one of the most common questions posted by visitors to the SunEarthPlan! If you want to see some of the answers posted in response, click on the "view all questions" link below.
You might also be interested in some of the following articles within this site.
The Northern Lights: How are scientists trying to find out what causes the most intense aurora?
Aurora Alert!: Find out how Lanacster University's AuroraWatch scheme can help you see the aurora from the UK
Seeing the northern lights from Britain: Can it be done?
Man Made Aurorae: Is it possible to create aurora at the flick of a switch?
Extra-Terrestrial Aurora: Do other planets have aurora?
"What is a star made out of?"
Josie, Morecambe
A star is a gigantic ball of plasma, or gas with electrically charged particles freely moving within it.
The main element in stars is hydrogen. Our Sun is roughly made out of 90% hydrogen, 9% helium, and then traces of other elements.
Dr. Nicolas Labrosse, University of Wales Aberystwyth
"If a typical star can only ‘burn’ up to iron before it colapses on it’s self, how large does a star need to be to ‘burn’ up to plutonium or are the elements only produced during supernova?"
Philip, Derby
Stars make energy by fusing hydrogen to make helium. Late in their life, they fuse helium to make carbon. More massive stars continue producing energy by fusion making heavier and heavier elements, up to iron. Beyond iron the process doesn’t release energy.
So where do the heavier elements come from? Mostly they are made as a side effect of other processes in stars, processes that produce neutrons. Light elements capture these neutrons then undergo radioactive (beta) decay making heavier elements.
Stars like our sun do this slowly at the end of their lives making all the elements from iron to bismuth. In supernovae these and even heavier elements (like plutonium) can be made by a more rapid burst of neutrons.
Jamie Gilmour, SEAES, University of Manchester
"We want to visit Iceland this year to possibly see the northern lights. When is the most likely time of the year to see them and can anyone predict if they are more likely to appear at any particular time?"
Jenny, Leicester
This is one of the most common questions posted by visitors to the SunEarthPlan! If you want to see some of the answers posted in response, click on the "view all questions" link below.
You might also be interested in some of the following articles within this site.
The Northern Lights: How are scientists trying to find out what causes the most intense aurora?
Aurora Alert!: Find out how Lanacster University's AuroraWatch scheme can help you see the aurora from the UK
Seeing the northern lights from Britain: Can it be done?
Man Made Aurorae: Is it possible to create aurora at the flick of a switch?
Extra-Terrestrial Aurora: Do other planets have aurora?
"Is the Sun a star?"
Ron, Liverpool
The short answer is "yes"!
In fact, it's a pretty average star - the only reason is seems so different to the other stars we can see from Earth is that it's so close by.
The Sun is "only" about 150 million kilometers away from the Earth. At this distance it only takes light just over 8 minutes to get from the Sun to the Earth.
The next nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is 4.3 light years away. This means that it takes light 4.3 years to get to the Earth from Alpha Centauri. That's why Alpha Centauri appears to be a tiny pin prick of light in the sky even though it's about the same size as the Sun - it's over a quarter of a million times further away!
Dr. Jim Wild, Lancaster University
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