You may be in luck—either leading up to or following the fall equinox, which occurs on September 22, unusually intense geomagnetic storms are predicted to occur.
These storms may give stargazers increased opportunities to see the aurora borealis this month.
The strong geomagnetic storms are caused by a phenomenon known as the Russell-McPherron Effect. This effect was explained in a paper published in 1973 by Christopher Russell and Robert McPherron.
In the paper, the geophysicists share their theory for why the northern lights are so active around March and September—Earth's two equinoxes.
Typically, the magnetic fields of the Earth and solar wind are misaligned.
The geophysicists argue that during March and September, the magnetic fields of the Earth and solar wind momentarily line up, which can result in more auroral activity.
The solar wind is created by a collection of charged particles from the sun's outermost atmosphere, the corona.
LIKE SHARE AND SAVE