According to the predictions of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the coming days the Earth will be on the path of a powerful coronal mass ejection — a condensation of charged particles spewed by the sun — on November 27–29. One of the consequences of this will be bright auroras, which are likely to be observed from the territory of Ukraine.
The “first waves” of the cosmic storm will reach us today, that is, in the evening of November 30. It seems that they will not be so powerful as to cause an impressive celestial spectacle, at least in the northernmost regions of our country. But still, after it gets dark enough, it’s worth paying attention to the northern part of the sky from time to time — that’s where the “heavenly flares” should appear. According to current weather forecasts, the probability of clear skies over Kyiv is greater on the night of November 30 to December 1. Unfortunately, the capital will be covered with a dense cloud the next night, and snow is possible. The situation is about the same in the eastern regions.
Residents of the south will be much more lucky, as clear sky is also expected there on the evening of December 1, and it is then, according to helio physicists, the Earth will plunge into the densest condensation of the solar wind. This will cause quite bright auroras, visible even at the latitudes of Odesa and Kherson. An additional convenience will be that the next day will be Saturday, so for many people, it will not be difficult to observe the sky most of the night.
But in the west of Ukraine, weather conditions will be unfavorable both nights; clouds and heavy snow are expected there. But, since meteorologists do not know how to predict the weather with absolute probability yet, it cannot be ruled out that “windows” will appear in the clouds over some areas, and through them, it will be possible to see at least a little “sky show”.
It is also worth mentioning that in the second half of the night, the Moon will interfere with observations as it will create its own illumination, which is not much weaker than the aurora.
It is difficult to say when we will be able to see this phenomenon again. Unfortunately, astronomers can predict space weather even worse now than meteorologists can predict terrestrial weather.
Earlier, we wrote about why auroras over Ukraine began to be observed more often.
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