We discussed the rare occurrence of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) being visible in central parts of the United States, including Iowa and Missouri on May 10-11, 2024.
- The Northern Lights were visible much farther south than usual, including central Missouri, due to a powerful G5 class geomagnetic storm caused by coronal mass ejections and solar flares from the Sun
- Justin, vividly recalls seeing the Aurora in Columbia, Missouri, around 20 years ago during another strong geomagnetic storm, describing it as brighter than the ones he witnessed in Fairbanks, Alaska
- The hosts explain how the different colors (green from nitrogen, pink from oxygen) are produced by the interaction of charged particles with gases in the Earth's atmosphere
- They discuss the potential impacts of such space weather events on GPS, telecommunications, and electrical grids, necessitating precautionary measures like shutting down satellites and power grids
- There were some agricultural impacts reported, like disrupted GPS on farm equipment during the planting season.
- The conversation also touches upon the hosts' humorous anecdotes and pop culture references related to the Northern Lights phenomenon.
Podcast summary generated using claude.ai and perplexity.ai
