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Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by uticus on Monday January 19, 2026 @04:15PM (#46684592)
Possible aurora visible through central US tonight
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by WorldPeas on Monday January 19, 2026 @03:26PM (#46684057)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by dschuessler on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:18PM (#46685282)
This page looks like an accessibility nightmare. The entire warning text is an image. There is no transcription present for screen reader users. I did not expect this from a government website.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by cwillu on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:55PM (#46686234)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by delusional on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:25PM (#46685346)
Looking at the aspect ratio (and working in a bank) it's worse than that. That's a powerpoint slide.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by delfinom on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:19PM (#46685939)
Not like someone with poor vision is going to be able to see the aurora borealis that results

/s

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by miduil on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:20PM (#46685306)
Nice, you can already see some solar flares in Austria again.

https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/kleinfleisskees/

https://www.foto-webcam.eu/

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by qwertox on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:29PM (#46686031)
Oh wow! https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/ederplan/2026/01/20/0000

And up at the top right, left to "Latest" you can skip the time back and forth at 10 minute intervals. And then jump back like 10 images, what a beauty.

You can even see Starlink satellites https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/ederplan/2026/01/19/1820

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by irjustin on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:30PM (#46686467)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by chakintosh on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:10AM (#46690555)
Crazy how many starlink satellite trains can be seen here. I spotted 4 trains, in that one cam
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by irjustin on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:34AM (#46691665)
Isn't that just 4 sats and it looks like that because of long exposure?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jcims on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:57AM (#46691882)
Not to be a buzzkill but I think those are planes. The stars show trails so these must be long exposures, and trails of similar length appear to be going in all different directions, eg: https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/ederplan/2026/01/19/1820
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by caseyohara on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:51PM (#46686207)
Those images around 19:00 are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by zahlman on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:36PM (#46685464)
It seems that the peak was several hours ago, and I haven't observed any effects from it...
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by guerrilla on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:24PM (#46685985)
The peak was originally supposed to be 6-7 hours from now... it's still showing KP 8 here though, so I'm not sure what's going on. It could get more intense.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by bartman on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:53PM (#46685699)
We had intense aurora in Berlin, Germany. Green clouds dancing in the sky levels. Started around 22:10 local time or a bit earlier, and at this point there's only a faint red/green glow remaining.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rob74 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:35PM (#46686083)
Yeah, there were auroras even as far south as Munich. Maybe not as intense, but it's the first aurora I ever saw, so I can't really judge...
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ccozan on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:26PM (#46686443)
I am south-west of Munich and with a perfect clear sky I could only see stars, one meteor, and that's it.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Kyro38 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:26AM (#46693752)
We also had them in Grenoble, south of France.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by fransje26 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:04PM (#46697051)
It was visible in the 22:00-23:00 time window. Here in the south west, the sky started turning green around 22:30.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by fluxflexer on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:13PM (#46686357)
Just spend an hour outsite (Northern Germany, 01:00 MET). Unfortunately nothing to report, neither visual nor on camera. Maybe I just went to late and missed the show. I hope you habe more luck in Canada and the US!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jacquesm on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:16PM (#46686367)
It's pretty subtle right now here in NL but I can still see it with the naked eye. Mostly greenish haze that fades in and out.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by CalRobert on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:14PM (#46687844)
ahh I just went outside (south of Utrecht) and saw nothing. Maybe too much light pollution.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jacquesm on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:40AM (#46690371)
I'm lucky in that I was close to the IJsselmeer.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by madduci on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:00AM (#46688402)
I'm Berlin was around 22-23 o'clock visible
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by karim79 on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:30PM (#46686468)
I was just out at a dog park and saw nothing! We have clear skies. I can't believe I missed this.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by danesparza on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:02PM (#46695432)
Next time take a long exposure picture with your phone. You might be able to see it that way.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Tachyooon on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:45PM (#46686170)
Could you see it from the inner city or only closer to the edges?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by bartman on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:44PM (#46686553)
Friends who live in Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain could see it pretty well. I'm a bit further south within Berlin where skies are minimally darker, but between 10pm and 11pm it was so bright that light pollution didn't matter.

Funnily enough, despite having lots of alerts set up it was my mom who texted me from northern Brandenburg as she spotted it after getting an alert from RegenRadar, of all apps...

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Tachyooon on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:18PM (#46687111)
It's amazing to hear it's visible in such a big city. I don't have a good intuition for all the metrics that describe how strong this storm was/is, but when put like this it hits home.

Nice to hear earth weather apps also work great in space haha. I'll keep that in mind when I set up my own notifications. Hopefully I have time to look into it before the next storm hits.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by thrawn0r on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:36AM (#46688977)
Saw it in Fhain as well over Ostkreuz station
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by paulmist on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:19PM (#46685943)
Also seen in the Netherlands!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by TacticalCoder on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:21PM (#46687557)
I tought I was seeing aurora borealis here at 4 am local time in the neighboring Grand Duchy of Luxemburg but it was just visual pollution due to lights from a city.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by madduci on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:00AM (#46688398)
Can confirm, I've seen pink/green glow over Berlin Sky (and pictures as well)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by marc_g on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:17AM (#46688513)
Oh really? Oh no I missed it! Is it going to happen again today?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ComputerGuru on Monday January 19, 2026 @05:55PM (#46685725)
Do you need long exposure to make it visible with a camera? How does that work in the presence of light pollution?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by thebruce87m on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:08PM (#46685857)
Tonight I could see the colours without the camera but it definitely stands out more with the long exposure of the camera.

Even with lights in the direct line of the shot you you can get good results - presumably the phone is doing HDR to achieve this.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ComputerGuru on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:13PM (#46699525)
I tried it last night (generally cloudless sky). With the naked eye it just looked like light pollution. With long exposure it looked like a weirdly lit picture. In neither case did I see any hint of green or red.

I’m not in the city, but you’d have to actually be two states away to escape its light (literally not figuratively, according to dark sky maps).

:(

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Macha on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:55PM (#46686236)
Local light pollution normally makes it hard to see with anything short of long exposure, but today it was naked eye visible and regular photos also captured it.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jjcm on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:00PM (#46685774)
If anyone is interested in what "G4" means in context, here's the scale: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by 8bitsrule on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:35PM (#46686508)
G4: " Induced pipeline currents affect preventive measures, HF radio propagation sporadic..."

G5: " Pipeline currents can reach hundreds of amps, HF (high frequency) radio propagation may be impossible in many areas for one to two days..."

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by gexla on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:53PM (#46686927)
"Cool! What's G13 do?" - Bill Hicks

Looks like G5 is the highest level and the scale system is used by NOAA.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by serf on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @04:17AM (#46689685)
>"Cool! What's G13 do?" - Bill Hicks

I hear that bit in my head every time a new plane or weapon designation is announced, glad to hear it stuck with others too.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ck2 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:58PM (#46696985)
G13 could be a gamma-ray burst from a collapsing star less than 100 light years from earth

in which case, don't worry about it as we won't be around to worry about it further

astro-physics is AMAZING (until it kills you lol)

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by gosub100 on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:00PM (#46686988)
"Free Energy!"
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by autoexec on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:17AM (#46688182)
That's the nice thing about solar power, but it's still a limited time offer
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by smcnally on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:47AM (#46691256)
Indirect Nuclear Fusion
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tclancy on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:30AM (#46691137)
I wonder if they’re still putting out music …
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by mcs5280 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:40AM (#46688654)
Sam Altman has entered an agreement to acquire all future G4 and G5 energy
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by justinator on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:50AM (#46688716)
Waiting until it's like a G6, Like a G6

Now I'm feelin' so fly like a G6

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by miduil on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:25AM (#46688919)
Thanks, really had to listen to the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWRJC8ap9B4

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by dmurray on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:27AM (#46689274)
HF propagation is flaky at the best of times. It's affected by the day/night cycle and by the weather.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by irthomasthomas on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:12PM (#46686345)
We are at kp 8.67. The Carrington event was a kp 9
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ianruh on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:42PM (#46686543)
I am not an expert, but it’s worth noting that the kp index has a maximum value of 9. So though the Carrington event had a kp of 9, its intensity on the related (but not capped) HP30/HP60 scale [1] would likely have been higher. [1] https://kp.gfz.de/en/hp30-hp60
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by repeekad on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:01PM (#46686639)
Queue Chernobyl documentary clip measuring the radiation as low because that’s as high the meter went
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by celsoazevedo on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:17PM (#46686720)
3.6 roentgen. Not great, not terrible!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by anonymous344 on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:55PM (#46688055)
here, take one ö
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by wyldfire on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:47AM (#46688699)
Everybody's a diacritic.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by qingcharles on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:10PM (#46687482)
*skin sloughs off*
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by anonym29 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:37AM (#46688277)
You didn't see any graphite because it's not there!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by wafflemaker on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:15PM (#46695615)
Everything about these miniseries was wonderful.

Casting (who played who), acting, costumes and scenography (where did they get all these '80 soviet cars), and choice of scenes to film.

I had my hair rising when the guy cleaning roof of a building neighboring the reactor got stuck in deadly radiation zone for 4x the allowed 13 seconds. "You're dead comrade."

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by wyldfire on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:17PM (#46687102)
s/queue/cue/

Though I suppose you could also queue it.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by repeekad on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:04AM (#46688802)
Meant the first and people should do the second, Chernobyl on HBO is great.

It’s also technically not a documentary but historical drama.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by banku_brougham on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:23PM (#46698509)
kp 9 - not great, not terrible
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by echelon on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:28PM (#46686785)
Have we been having these more recently?

I don't ever recall seeing these in the news so frequently. It feels like there are several a year now. A decade ago, never.

And I also never remember seeing Aurora at my latitudes.

Do we just have better sensing now, or is there some cycle on a period longer than a few years? Or maybe I'm crazy and just never noticed.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by 0manrho on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:16PM (#46687852)
Mid to late 2025 was the peak of an 11 year solar cycle (25th one since we've started keeping track). We're on the trailing end of that peak activity now, which is why the past year/several months has seemed so active compared to recent years past, and should decrease significantly (in frequency and intensity) as 2026 progresses.

There was also a fairly significant geomagnetic storm back in November of 2025 as well.

You can see the data here at NOAA's Space Weather site https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by awesome_dude on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:33PM (#46686807)
We've just passed the 11 year peak - the sun spot activity has a period of around 11 years.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ErroneousBosh on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:44AM (#46691759)
> Have we been having these more recently?

Yes, for suitable values of "recently".

> And I also never remember seeing Aurora at my latitudes.

How old are you?

If you're younger than say your mid-40s you probably won't remember the early 80s, which is the last time we had a solar maximum that really came to anything.

Solar activity rises and falls on an 11-year cycle, and right now we're experiencing quite a peak. The previous three, peaking in 2014, 2011, and 1989 were a bit of a bust.

There was a massive peak in 1979 and I can remember my dad showing me the aurora when I was about six or seven - it seemed to be present most nights over the winter. That was also around the time of the CB Radio craze, where atmospheric conditions were such that you could use "skip" - bouncing radio signals off the highly-charged ionosphere - to talk to people hundreds of miles away as if they were just down the road, even on the comparatively high frequencies that CB used. There was a bit of a peak in the late 80s, and some good RF propagation too, as well as some incredible aurora - although the big one I remember was in about the end of 1991, early 1992.

We had absolutely blistering hot summers followed by really cold and snowy winters, too, kind of like we're having at the moment.

If the solar cycles have a longer repeating cycle of intensity on the scale of a hundred years or so (and it looks a bit like they do) then the next solar maximum in about 2036 is going to be even bigger.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by keepamovin on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:42PM (#46687673)
This is also related to weaker solar events leading to stronger Earth storms due to Earth's weakening magnetic field.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by kelseydh on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:15AM (#46688170)
Disturbance storm time index (DST) is a better measure of peak intensity as KP is just a moving average of the last three hours.

The May 2024 G5 electrical storm had a peak measured DST of −412 nT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2024_solar_storms

The Carrington Event had an estimated peak DST of −800 nT to −1750 nT, but nobody really knows for certain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by xeckr on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:56PM (#46686240)
Looks like we get these for about 60 days for periods lasting 11 years.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by neonmagenta on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:27PM (#46686452)
so more of a 'bad storm here and there' level?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by non- on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:23PM (#46686751)
> Biological: Unavoidable radiation hazard to astronauts on EVA; passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk.

Anyone have a sense of magnitude for this advisory? How much more radiation should an airline passenger expect to receive during a G4 event than normal?

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by inatreecrown2 on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:31PM (#46686801)
roughly up to 5-10 times the normal dose.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by NeoInHacker on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:41PM (#46687988)
sounds "it's okey" ?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jojobas on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:06AM (#46688104)
Nowhere near lifetime occupational dose limits.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Helmut10001 on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:07PM (#46687814)
Interestingly, there are about 100 events of this severity (G4) per cycle, and a single cycle lasts 11 years. This means there are about nine G4 events on average per year.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tomr_stargazer on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:54AM (#46688738)
Note, however, that the solar cycle [0] is so named due to its minimum and maximum: the most severe events will be clustered around the maximum, rather than spread out over the whole cycle (as your comment suggested) - so the "nine G4 events on average per year" is mathematically true but not so helpful.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by velocity3230 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:24AM (#46688908)
This was an S4 event, however.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by velocity3230 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:30AM (#46688945)
Belay that. The G-value was high too.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by 9dev on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:15AM (#46689199)
The scale seems capped at a pretty low upper end? It feels like with all the mindbogglingly huge numbers usually involved when talking about space, there must be much, much worse events possible. Is it just that we don't know enough about them due to lack of experience that these aren't included?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by poizan42 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:40AM (#46690364)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

But having been in 1859 we only have estimates on what the consequences would be in the modern world. But pretty grim at the looks of it.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Animats on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:02PM (#46685803)
PJM had some geomagnetic disturbance warnings, but did not progress to the alert stage or grid re-configuation actions. So, no US power grid problems.

    104955 Warning Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning 01.19.2026 14:30 
    PJM-RTO
    A Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning has been issued for
    14:30 on 01.19.2026 through 16:00 on 01.19.2026 .
    A GMD warning of K8 or greater is in effect for this period. 
    End time: 01.19.2026 16:00 
(All times are prevailing Eastern US time)

I've posted on this before, for other warnings. Not going to repeat that.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by cbdevidal on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:08PM (#46686325)
Thank you, that's a really handy resource. Shared with my prepper friends.

https://emergencyprocedures.pjm.com/ep/pages/dashboard.jsf

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by PlatoIsADisease on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:15PM (#46685911)
Years ago I was concerned about this and made a plan with my wife for what to do if she was at work.

But now we have a bunch of kids in different schools and haven't updated our plan.

Does anyone have a plan for what happens if we have a really bad event?

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by hnuser123456 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:20PM (#46685950)
A really bad event would be that long-distance transmission lines act like antennas and pick up millions of volts and blow up all the transformers.

I don't know how much you can plan for that other than "if it happens, try to get home", and then all the usual prepper stuff.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by myself248 on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:18PM (#46686380)
Pray for clear skies and go out and watch the beautiful aurora, silly!

Depending on the kids' ages, you can teach them quite a lot about the Earth's magnetic field and why the aurora concentrates at the poles, how the high-energy particles light up the sky (it's a lot like a neon light), and how the atmosphere shields us from any danger despite the spectacular show.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rootusrootus on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:35PM (#46686082)
For a really bad event that managed to blow a lot of transformers (presumably due to grid operators not seeing it coming) ... well, take up farming.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Tepix on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:20PM (#46685946)
Buy a bit of extra food and water.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by y1n0 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:53PM (#46686220)
And toilet paper! Rolls and rolls of toilet paper!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by swader999 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:22PM (#46685962)
First rule of fight club...
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by fuzzer371 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:17PM (#46685924)
Keep a couple days water and food on hand, go up to the pub, have a pint, and wait for this all to blow over.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by JoshTriplett on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:27PM (#46686012)
With how much modern cars rely on electronics, I would not try to drive during such an event.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by throwaway81523 on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:50PM (#46686584)
That's a safety feature. It prevents you from drinking and driving if you go to a pub during a solar flare. :)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by whyleyc on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:08PM (#46686330)
It’s ok - The Winchester is within walking distance.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jrgd on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:58PM (#46686630)
Omg i watched this yesterday!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jrgd on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:57PM (#46686618)
No one would drive to the pub anyway. Better walking back home…
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by JoshTriplett on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:24PM (#46686757)
Valid. I think I have such an ingrained different set of assumptions (a pub being just another kind of place for food, and "going to" anything involving a form of transportation) that that didn't even occur to me.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by lxgr on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:30PM (#46686043)
Solar flares are only dangerous to very long conductors.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by luxuryballs on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:06PM (#46686313)
so cancel the limo?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by internet_points on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:32AM (#46689330)
Disconnect your telegraph batteries and run on aurora power only
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by esskay on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:51AM (#46689496)
Feel a bit sensationalistic. It happens, it's not rare, and we've always got on with life perfectly fine.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by _carbyau_ on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:17PM (#46685918)
Weirdly, while the site in question is "blaring klaxons!" there are more "cool night lights!" posts than concern.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by zamadatix on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:30PM (#46686032)
Unless you're in space, a large scale electrical operator, or relying on HF radio there isn't much reason to be interested other than the lights for a G4 (what this is currently classed as).
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by pvab3 on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:39PM (#46687262)
my Telecaster sure was noisy this morning but I didn't think much of it
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rzzzt on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:20PM (#46686397)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by guerrilla on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:23PM (#46685972)
> while the site in question is "blaring klaxons!"

No, it isn't. It clearly says everything is under control but it would be good to keep an eye on it.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by bashtoni on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:17PM (#46685919)
Australian Bureau of Meteorology advisory for visible aurora: https://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Aurora
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by aussieguy1234 on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:58PM (#46686626)
Worth noting that Kp, which many talk about in discussions online, is more or less useless for anyone in Australia or the southern hemisphere. Lots of beginner Aurora chasers here get tripped up by that.

What is useful is KAus and the G index, KAus is shown on this page, so thats what i'll be tracking.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jp0d on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:30PM (#46686035)
Are there any resources to track Aurora sightings or predicted sightings?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by stubish on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:42PM (#46686149)
At the bottom right of that page is a subscribe link, with a number of different alerts and lists to subscribe to.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jp0d on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:32PM (#46698584)
Thank you!
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by lakid on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:32PM (#46687203)
https://aurora-alerts.uk/ Ignore the UK TLD, this tracks global sightings
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jp0d on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:31PM (#46698579)
Ahh thank you! I saw a few photos from last night's Aurora sightings down here in Vic, Australia. Maybe next time! :)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by hahahahhaah on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:26PM (#46686001)
Is that tonight or last night?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by bashtoni on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:20PM (#46686400)
It was only issued this morning Australian time, so I presume it's for tonight.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by aussieguy1234 on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:17PM (#46685925)
I'll be going out tonight if this continues into Australian night time hours.

At this strength, I could see the full display including colors with my naked eye in Melbourne, May 11th 2024. This storm is slightly stronger than that event.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ikr678 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:54AM (#46689087)
I'll be attempting to get some photos/footage from Esperance.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by defrost on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:12AM (#46689184)
There's a high triple threat bar for Astro photos sourced from Western Australia.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110529.html

If you manage to pull off the Aurora Australis above a triple curl at The Right with a shark body surfing into the green room ... the internet will explode.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rediguanayum on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:18PM (#46685938)
Moon should be good too to see Aurora tonight: waxing crescent 1% https://www.moongiant.com/phase/today/
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ferguess_k on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:21PM (#46685956)
Darn Montreal is still too south. Wish I were in Winnipeg.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tigerlily on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:32PM (#46686060)
Hopefully it's clear space weather for Artemis II coming up. I wonder what they do if it's inclement en route?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by perihelions on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:24PM (#46686424)
There's not that much they can do. It's often discussed that if the extreme August 1972 solar storm had overlapped with an Apollo mission (it didn't), it would have acutely sickened the astronauts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_1972_solar_storms#Human...

> "Had a mission been taking place during August, those inside the Apollo command module would have been shielded from 90% of the incoming radiation. However, this reduced dose could still have caused acute radiation sickness if the astronauts were located outside the protective magnetic field of Earth, which was the case for much of a lunar mission. An astronaut engaged in EVA in orbit or on a moonwalk could have experienced severe radiation poisoning, or even absorbed a potentially lethal dose."

The Orion capsule's contingency plan looks something like this:

> "To protect themselves, astronauts will position themselves in the central part of the crew module largely reserved for storing items they’ll need during flight and create a shelter using the stowage bags on board. The method protects the crew by increasing mass directly surrounding them, and therefore making a denser environment that solar particles would have to travel through, while not adding mass to the crew module itself."

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/orion/scientists-and-e...

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by xattt on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:53AM (#46688731)
For All Mankind “illustrated” a solar storm at surface-level of the moon, including “boiling” regolith. I wonder how embellished this was, or whether particle bombardment would actually cause this.

My mind goes to the working mechanism of eidophor projectors, where oil on the projection bowl does indeed deform under electron beam exposure.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by frzen on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:35PM (#46686088)
I had the most intensely coloured lights visible in the west of Ireland. I've seen them a few times before but never like this. Phones were capturing them in video not just long exposures.

Not sure what the best service is to be alerted ahead of time. Apparently it'll be strong here again at 6am according to some of the apps some random people were waving around.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by ortusdux on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:56PM (#46686243)
There are several apps that do a good job of alerting users. I use "Aurora Pro", which I prefer because it checks cloud cover and lets you set alert thresholds based on viewing probability.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by King-Aaron on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:02PM (#46686284)
I woke up to a notification from aurora pro today, I'd forgotten I had the app. This would explain it
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by cbeach on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:41PM (#46686145)
Probably a stupid question, but should I unplug my EV? (UK)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by qayxc on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:03PM (#46686291)
No need. Wrong type of solar event. You might be able to see auroras, though. I saw some a couple of hours ago.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jacquesm on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:06PM (#46686315)
No.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by _blk on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:42PM (#46687675)
Yes! Absolutely, but only if you want to drive it.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by aliljet on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:52PM (#46686216)
I wonder if we're going to see an aurora over Seattle tonight?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by throwway120385 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:55PM (#46696195)
Too much light pollution. You'd have to get well outside of the city. I looked at the weather last night and I think there might have been some trails on Tiger where you would've seen it with headlamp off.

In Seattle you can barely see planets.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tramtrist on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:54PM (#46686228)
We never get aurora in Japan :(
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by pilaf on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:46PM (#46687704)
Hokkaido got some back in November: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16155623
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tramtrist on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:48AM (#46690843)
Yeah I figure Hokkaido may get a taste but we here in Honshu never do :'(
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by WhitneyLand on Monday January 19, 2026 @06:56PM (#46686247)
How rare is this?

G4 storms are ~100 per solar cycle (~11 years).

So roughly 9 G4 events/year on average.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by burnt-resistor on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:58PM (#46686620)
Like 20-25 years rare according to some space weather youtuber.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by creatonez on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:35PM (#46687947)
> some space weather youtuber

Please stop watching that guy, he is a total fraud and knows nothing about physics.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tbrownaw on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:00PM (#46687408)
But they should mostly be in the same part of the cycle rather than spread evenly.

It probably wouldn't make sense to calculate "average snow days per month" across an entire calendar year (in most places...), this is the same thing.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by velocity3230 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:26AM (#46688927)
This is an S4, though.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by velocity3230 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:31AM (#46688947)
Belay that. The G-value was high too.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rapht on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:31AM (#46690746)
This is an S4. Last S4 event was in October 2003.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by drmpeg on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:32PM (#46686481)
Although everyone is interested in visible aurora, the proton flux is also really impressive. It peaked at 37,000 pfu at 1910Z. The highest ever recorded was 43,500 pfu in March 1991.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by JoeDaDude on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:44PM (#46686550)
There is a video update from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. (I could only find this on Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/reel/1190509063198524
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by burnt-resistor on Monday January 19, 2026 @07:57PM (#46686612)
Up to G-5 possibly. Cell phone visible in dark areas throughout most of CONUS.

It was mentioned that air travel ionizing radiation exposure increases during geomagnetic storms. I'd consider pausing travel for a couple of days to not be a guinea pig because there's not enough data to consider it safe. If anyone absolutely must fly tonight, it'd be interesting if they were to take a high sensitivity dosimeter to see what happens.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by garbagewoman on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:43AM (#46689422)
Not sure how to deal with this kind of wildly unbalanced risk assessment
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Kunsang on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:09PM (#46686678)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by neogodless on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:25PM (#46687156)
This is definitely not a language I speak!

Flux and bZ!

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by imp0cat on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:37AM (#46690773)
Surely you must be familiar with the flux capacitor? ;)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Kunsang on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:10PM (#46698374)
I understand maybe half of this, but I followed the discussion and knew when it was about time to go outside.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by fnands on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:41AM (#46689396)
Damn, I love finding some hyper-specific forums like this one.

Sooo much jargon.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by nbf_1995 on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:09PM (#46686679)
Title says "S4" solar radiation event, but the linked page says "G4" geomagnetic storm
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by anon115 on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:22PM (#46686749)
any effects on the human body??
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by internet_points on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:38AM (#46689368)
Depends. If you're outside at night and tilt your head up, the Default Mode Network of your brain may be temporarily suppressed, while dopamine may increase.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by andrewinardeer on Monday January 19, 2026 @08:33PM (#46686808)
Any tips on best practices in how one can protect homelab rigs from a Carrington level event? Let's say we were given two days notice that the mother of all S4s was inbound. Just switch everything off?

What if one of my homelabs needed 100% uptime to meet my wife's SLA for messaging? Is this able to be protected?

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by amluto on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:40PM (#46687277)
Not much? As I understand it, the major effects are in very long wires. Long wires can have get massive induced currents. But your homelab is unlikely to have long wires or very large loops. Ethernet wires are limited to 100m, and unshielded Ethernet is transformer-isolated to well over 1kV.

Shielded Ethernet could plausibly have issues with induced current on the shield. PoE might be less immune than ordinary Ethernet depending on what you’re doing with it, although well-behaved devices should be isolated. If you have a cable ISP, the cable shield might get toasty, although it’s likely to be grounded close enough to your house that any damage will be upstream.

Your 100% uptime will be tricky if your ISP goes down or you lose power.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by idatum on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:38PM (#46687258)
Discontinue use of your telegraph system.

Perhaps though you will still be able to continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected your power supply. [1]

[1] https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x001679510&seq=40...

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by rootusrootus on Monday January 19, 2026 @09:28PM (#46687176)
AFAIK the risk is for long transmission lines. So your equipment at home is not really in any danger, as long as there is not a major surge on the transmission lines that makes it all the way to your house. If that happens, well, losing the home lab is probably no longer the issue.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by tbrownaw on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:10PM (#46687481)
Make sure you have a surge protector or ups, in case it makes the power grid go funky. Which you should have anyway.

Also, it could be a convenient excuse to upgrade to fiber internet service if you haven't already. (Yes, excuse. Equipment should have more than good enough isolation to not care.)

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by johncolanduoni on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:40AM (#46688657)
Even if you don't have fiber all the way into your house, most cable internet terminates pretty close to the home these days. It kind of has to, since bandwidth has gone way up and as a result they can't put very many subscribers on the same termination system.

We didn't really understand this kind of thing when the Carrington event happened, so nobody knows for sure, but estimates for induced voltage on long conductors are usually something on the order of 20V/km. So for a 5 km long coaxial cable, you're only talking about ~120V of induced potential difference (i.e. the same voltage as a residential plug in the US). When people are analyzing the potential damage from this kind of electromagnetic disturbance (E3 is the term you'll see, based on analysis of nuclear EMP which has other components that you don't see in geomagnetic storms regardless of severity), it's mostly about really long conductors, like on the order of 100km.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by _blk on Monday January 19, 2026 @10:41PM (#46687667)
Nice. And it's somewhat relieving to read this over a Starlink connection.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by AnishLaddha on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:00PM (#46687780)
fascinating, hope our critical infrastructure can handle this. how long does something like this last, and will it have an effect on artemis 2?

hypothetical: if a carrington event-esque storm happens during the mission, how badly will the houston <-> orion module communication links be affected?

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by sparin9 on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:02PM (#46687785)
TL;DR: A severe (G4-level) geomagnetic storm hit Earth on January 19, 2026 due to a solar coronal mass ejection. It can disrupt power grids, GPS, satellite systems, and radio communications, while creating visible aurora displays at higher latitudes.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by lukan on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:29AM (#46688941)
I missed it (seeing the Aurora) .. are there any reliable alerts for this sort of event, that do not alert me about anything else, but really only such big events?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by cvt7bm on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:47AM (#46689049)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by lukan on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:04AM (#46689135)
Thanks, that seems exactly what I was looking for. (Now I have to figure out the best way to get a alert to my phone if my inbox receives such a mail, probably easiest to use a a mailadress just for this case and then treat this emailadress different)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by MrGilbert on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:18AM (#46690206)
One caveat is, that these events cannot be forecasted in the same way as weather on earth can. You usually only have a lead time of 15 - 45 minutes. See also https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/aurora-tutorial
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by lukan on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:48AM (#46690410)
Sure. But if I am awake, those 15 minutes are enough to get dressed and go outside.

Yesterday I just would have had to walk to the balkony to see it, but I was busy with some frustrating coding problem instead ..

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by Levitating on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:59AM (#46691373)
same, I was awake for the whole night but completely missed it
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by vachina on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:10AM (#46690991)
On iOS there’s an app literally called “Aurora”.

It will notify you when you’re in an area with a high Kp (or above a Kp you specify).

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by albertzeyer on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:25AM (#46693725)
I had registered for alerts on https://aurorasaurus.org/. But that alert was sent way too late for me (strongest lights were yesterday around 10-11 PM, and the notification was sent 2 AM today). But I was very lucky and just noticed the lights by accident on my way home.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by cess11 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:56AM (#46689092)
I live somewhat close to the arctic circle and the aurora has been exceptional lately. One recent evening it looked like there was a massive city behind the cloud cover, and a few nights before when the sky was clear I watched enormous green flames for hours.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by internet_points on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:25AM (#46689270)
Aha, you probably witnessed a glimpse of Cittàgazze. You can capture it in photograms with a special emulsion: https://hisdarkmaterials.fandom.com/wiki/Aurora?file=Citt%C3...
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by brador on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:01AM (#46690088)
What strength would destroy the sensor?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jokull on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @06:16AM (#46690603)
As seen from my apartment in Reykjavík Iceland: https://ss.solberg.is/89N0qS7T
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by smcnally on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:03AM (#46691398)
That’s beautiful. But you get aurora even sans G4, true? Was this more intense and spectacular?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jokull on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @04:56PM (#46698260)
Yes - not seen it this red though.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jesprenj on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:02AM (#46690940)
Our network router in our radio station started acting crazy at 22:00:40 Europe/Ljubljana time. Uptime monitoring via HTTPS reported downtime for 5 minutes, but our radio archive that records audio over LiveWire recorded some bitcrushing effects for 5 minues. Maybe our Mikrotik hEX was flipping some bits? Recording from the radio archive: https://splet.4a.si./dir/solar.mp3
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by justsomehnguy on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @07:56AM (#46691341)
Yes, sounds similar to a corrupted digital audio.

Replace hex with something more robust, at least with an actual metallic case.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by jesprenj on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @09:05AM (#46691942)
Yes, that is planned. As soon as we get more money (:
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by noumenon1111 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:43AM (#46694030)
*Gemini Tech Tip #624:* Boost your Wi‑Fi and spiritual resilience by wrapping your router in aluminum foil! Protect against solar flares, reptilian packet theft, and basic physics. Turn it into a family craft: make and decorate foil router cozies and matching foil hats, then browse Reddit and/or the park, seeking fellow shiny‑headed believers.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by motrm on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:35AM (#46691672)
Sounds like a dialup modem at about 3:30 :)

How sure are we the aliens aren't trying to dial in?

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by markonen on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:47AM (#46691799)
Just had my first uncorrectable memory read error on our servers in 10 years or so today (in Sacramento). I'd like to think it's related because the alternative (buying new DIMMs) is too horrifying to contemplate
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by buildbot on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:02PM (#46694365)
Last major storm I saw a significant number of single bit errors on my main server - never happened again, still using the same ram. So +1 anecdote
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by dosnem on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:00PM (#46697006)
Is this detectable without some parity checks?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by danielheath on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @04:44PM (#46698140)
No, but ECC ram gives you _hardware_ parity checks, which is much faster and doesn’t require you to change your code.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by markus_zhang on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @08:49AM (#46691811)
Well I didn't see anything last night (In Eastern Canada), probably because there was too much light in the suburb. Now the aurora "area" turns back to Europe and Asia, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Judging by this picture: https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/animations/ovation/nor... , I think in a few hours the whole North Europe can see it very clearly.

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by T0Bi on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @10:21AM (#46692725)
Your URL is broken (for me)
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by juliend2 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @09:21AM (#46692092)
Might be a coincidence but for the first time last night, my son's sleep projector[0] didn't stop after 1h like it does normally.

I guess this could be related to it? (we are in Montreal)

I doubt these toys are protected from those kinds of events.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Settle-Sleep-Projection-...

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by mrbluecoat on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @10:00AM (#46692461)
Verizon will probably retroactively blame their outage on it.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by notfish on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:07AM (#46693424)
Had to stay up until 2am shutting down our spacecraft. Stupid sun hates to see me get a solid night’s sleep.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by aclindsa on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @12:54PM (#46695283)
What spacecraft is your spacecraft?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by phendrenad2 on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @01:35PM (#46695910)
And where did you park it? And what's the combination to open the hatch?
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by wafflemaker on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @02:31PM (#46696661)
What are the best apps to get notified when there's a geomagnetic storm /chances to see Aurora? Preferably not only for USA.
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by trashface on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @03:51PM (#46697587)
Scott Manley just did a video on radiation shielding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcbevbBzsc

Based on that, I presume the astronauts on the ISS will need to take cover due to this event

Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by johng on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:04PM (#46698333)
These solar events can cause loss of communication with satellites making avoidance maneuvers hard or impossible. This article just came out recently and is definitely scary: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/28-days-to-disaster-w...
Re:Level S4 solar radiation event by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @05:22PM (#46698498)
Any aurora luck for those of us in the Rockies? (Near Yellowstone.)