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Chance to see northern lights fades

The northern lights did make an appearance over Norway last night.
Image Credit: Twitter

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — It was a second chance at a first date for many and we got stood up, again.

The solar energy expected to hit the Earth's atmosphere and put on a dazzling display of northern lights in areas where they are not normally seen has apparently missed the mark and the Space Weather Prediction Center is now saying the chances of seeing them are slipping away. It was first expected to hit in the early hours Thursday morning and then was pushed back to overnight/early morning on Friday.

“The coronal mass ejection associated with the (strong) solar flare radio blackout event from Jan. 7 appears to have only had minor affects on Earth,” the National Weather Service says. “While increased activity is still possible, it now appears improbable.”

Around 5 a.m. the prediction center posted on Facebook, where many followers expressed disappointment the lights never materialized over North America in the same way as it did over some northern regions of Europe.

“Unfortunately, it appears the bulk of the CME missed the Earth, and what did hit us was very weak,” it said. “No one is more frustrated with this event than the forecasters here at SWPC.... It is unlikely it will be strong enough to produce aurora at locations farther south than the more northern latitudes.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.

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