Look...Up in the Sky

There are some great advantages to working morning radio.  Having my workday done before noon gives me the rest of the afternoon for reading, shopping, exercising, cleaning, helping the kids with homework or playing video games. 

There are also plenty of disadvantages.  There's the 3:40am alarm buzz, for starters.  Also, I can't watch the NFL or NBA in primetime because sports get me too keyed up to sleep.  I can't stay out late because, frankly, I'm falling asleep by 9pm.  And I can't stay up and skywatch.  It's this last point that leaves me disappointed today.

Tuesday morning found the news wire and social networks lit up with reports of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, being seen in half of the United States, as far south as Georgia.  A reddish sky was reported as nearby as Richmond.

Scientists say a coronal mass ejection, or a huge release of energy from the Sun, hit the Earth's magnetic field Monday at around 2pm EDT, creating a specular aurora.  I, of course, didn't see it, having checked out at my customary 8:30pm. 

Scientists say the storm that created the lights is subsiding but add that its effects could linger for another day.
Tonight, I think I'll peek out the backdoor after 7pm and take a look for myself, just in case.

Links:
www.Spaceweather.com -- includes news and photos from Monday's aurora
Animation showing how the aurora grew over the North Pole during the magnetic storm.