Can they predict auroras?
Auroras were watched during the igy, and thousands of reports were made hourly. Most experts agree that they are caused by radiation from solar flares. These gigantic flames flash up on the face of the sun near sunspots and the best aurora displays occur at the peak of the 11 year sunspot cycle. Scene radiations from a solar flare may reach the sunlit side of the earth in eight minutes, causing a radio blackout. But the streaming particles which cause auroras in our upper atmosphere lag behind and sometimes miss the earth altogether. Experts can predict only that auroras may begin to enliven our polar skies 12 to 36 hours after a solar flare occurs on the face of the sun.
