Am I correct this potentially weaken our shielding against charged particles coming from the Sun?
And if so, is it opening the possibility of having northern lights in the middle of the Atlantic?
And if so, is it opening the possibility of having northern lights in the middle of the Atlantic?
Maybe with northern lights over equator, I'd have to think about it more, but it's odd to think of an aurora where the magnetic field lines are parallel with the ground rather than normal to the ground (particles are much more mobile along field lines rather than across field lines in plasmas).
When space weather activity increases and more frequent and larger storms and substorms occur, the aurora extends equatorward. During large events, the aurora can be observed as far south as the US, Europe, and Asia. During very large events, the aurora can be observed even farther from the poles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aurora_Kp_Map_North_Ameri...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aurora_Kp_Map_Eurasia.gif
Now if you start seeing Auroras in Lisbon or Miami please let me know!
Portugal might be more northern than you think. It's only just south of Toronto.