When was the last time the Aurora Borealis was seen at the equator?

Question

I have been looking up information about the aurora borealis and I have heard that they can be seen every 200 years at the equator. When was the last time this has happened? Will it happen again soon? Thanks!

Answer 1

There's no real cycle for seeing Aurora Borealis at low latitudes.   On the occasions when it happens, it is due to exceptionally strong geomagnetic storms, associated with strong sunspot activity.  I'm not aware of them ever occurring at the equator, though.  When they're at low latitudes, it's in temperate areas, not tropical.

Answer 2

I have never heard of such a thing happening before unless there was a solar storm of such great magnitude.

Answer 3

This could only be possible during a magnetic pole shift.  I believe the best scientific estimates of when that happened was in the neighborhood of 730,000 years ago.

Answer 4

There are two things that cause the aurora.  Solar flares - these are unpredictable, and sunspots.  Solar flares, also called CME (Coronal Mass Ejections) can cause an aurora that can be seen planet wide.  The last one of signifigant strength happened late October 2006 - it was the third largest CME in recorded history and caused an aurora that was visible in Texas, the Behamas, and south of Hawaii.

Sunspots that point directly at the earth will cause an aurora also.

You can find additional info and links at www.northpolegallery.com in the links area.

Hope this helps