Photos: Sneaky northern lights didn’t escape these aurora watchers
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A low-forecasted solar storm turned out to be much more powerful, allowing for some aurora chasers to chat the light show Monday night.
A coronal mass ejection reached Earth and created a stronger than expected KP index with a peak of 7.67, which is strong enough to make the northern lights potentially visible as far south as Iowa or Illinois.
Forecasts for the night were around a KP index of 5, which would be strong enough for a show in northern Minnesota and Canada, but not as far south as the Twin Cities.
Even during the current peak of the nine-year solar cycle with stronger solar activity, forecasting auroras can be a challenge.
Missed the fun? There’s still great space spotting Tuesday night, with the full harvest blood eclipse supermoon scheduled for 9:35 p.m.
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