Photo courtesy of Photos.com. Mar 12, 2012; 7:02 AM ET
Another solar flare taking aim at Earth could lead to increased aurora activity on Monday.
As Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski pointed out last week, "Aerial coverage of the displays produced by each coronal mass ejection are difficult to gauge ahead of time."
The best chance for viewing the show Monday night, if Earth's magnetosphere cooperates, will be across the northern Plains and far-northern New England.
A storm moving into the East and a storm moving onshore in the Northwest will create clouds and poor viewing conditions for many.
About 80 percent of the moon will be visible Monday night, which could detract from viewing the show somewhat.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, the coronal mass ejection should start to affect Earth late Monday into early on Tuesday, with intensities lower than those observed last week.
Experts at SpaceWeather.com state that not only do the magnetic storms unleashed by the flares cause auroras, but they can be somewhat disruptive.
Sosnowski also pointed out that "the expanse of the Northern Lights and disruptions depend on whether or not the flare directly strikes the Earth versus a glancing blow, as well as the strength of the coronal mass ejection itself."
In the extreme case, there can be brief disruptions to radio and GPS signals.
Space Weather indicates that a strong magnetic storm can cause satellites onboard computer systems to reboot.
As a precaution, some commercial flights will reroute their trips from polar regions.
For more information on aurora's and other astronomy tidbits, check out the AccuWeather.com Astronomy Facebook Page.
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