Document text
Solar flare lights up the night sky across the Rogue Valley Dozens of Rogue Valley residents Friday night reported seeing streaking bursts of green, orange and red lighting up the sky. According to Holly Snell, a meteorologist intern with the Medford office of the National Weather Service, the display was caused by a solar flare that erupted Thursday. A solar flare is a sudden, short-lived intensity in light of the sun that usually occurs near sunspots, and is often accompanied by a large increase in cosmic rays. "It�s pretty rare," Snell said of the light show. "It�s been seen as far south as Phoenix, Ariz." Dozens of residents, many of whom lived in rural areas, contacted the National Weather Service or Jackson County Sheriff�s Department Friday night with questions about the bright night sky. "Most of our callers have been on hills or someplace away from Medford city lights," Snell added. Scientists said the display is likely to continue across the country weekend, and will be most visible after the moon sets. The storms on the sun may also disrupt telecommunications. The biggest sunspot cluster seen in at least 10 years has developed on the upper right quarter of the side of the sun visible from Earth, according to satellite readings. Researchers said the sunspot could persist for several days. The eruptions triggered a powerful, but brief, blackout Friday on some high-frequency radio channels and low-frequency navigational signals, scientists said. They forecast at least a 30 percent chance of continuing disruptions through Sunday. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.