Tag Archive | Active Sunspots turning toward Earth

SPACEWEATHER: The Equinox Begins the Season of Auroras

Aurora, Taken from the flight deck by Matt Melnyk on September 22, 2026 @ Northern Manitoba, Hudson Bay.

Aurora Portals at the Equinox

SPACEWEATHER.COM NEWS: 09/22/2026

AURORAS LOVE EQUINOXES: Autumn begins this week, and so does aurora season. The northern autumnal equinox is today, Sept. 22nd. That is the cue for Arctic lights to switch on.

The reason is the Russell-McPherron effect. In 1973, UCLA researchers Christopher Russell and Robert McPherron figured out why geomagnetic activity has seasons. During the days and weeks around equinoxes, Earth’s tilt lines up our planet’s magnetic field with the sun’s, and the two fields connect. This creates pathways and portals in the magnetosphere where solar wind can enter.

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