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CO-ROTATING INTERACTION REGION NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on March 28th when a co-rotating interaction region, CIR, is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs are transition zones between fast and slow moving solar wind streams. Solar wind plasma piles up in these regions, producing density gradients and shock waves that do a good job of sparking auroras. Right behind the CIR, a stream of high-speed solar wind is lurking. It is flowing from this coronal hole in the sun's southern hemisphere. Coronal holes are places in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. In the image, above, curved lines trace the sun's magnetic field; arrows indicate the flow of gaseous material (solar wind) away from the sun. Gas velocities in the stream could be as high as 700 km/s or 1.6 million mph. When such a high-speed stream hits Earth, it is likely to spark bright polar auroras. Stay tuned for weekend lights. |
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