A developing solar storm could give Southern Alberta a look at the Aurora Borealis tonight.
Roland Dechesne with the Royal Astronomical Society's Calgary Chapter says the initial impact of the storm happened on Tuesday later in the afternoon.
"At about quarter to 4, we had the first hit of a potential solar storm coming to Earth," he said. "Despite having hit, we're thinking that the polarity of the material that hit the Earth is the wrong direction, so it might not interact very strongly. It's one of those things where we never know until things get close to Earth whether or not it's the right polarity... We'll probably see stuff in our northern sky but it won't be a very strong display at this point."
With that said, as the storm continues, conditions could change to reveal a much better look at the Aurora Borealis higher up in the sky.
"Once we've had this greater amount of material encountering the Earth, if the polarity does shift we do then have the prospect of a stronger show that would be visible higher in our sky... What hit us just now is maybe just a precursor, and the main blat of material, which is expected to be much stronger, might have a different polarity. But that's a roll of the dice on the polarity," says Duchesne.
One element working in our favour is the moon, which Duchesne says will brighten up the sky and illuminate any of the Northern Lights if they do show up.
"If someone were to stay up all night to try and look for the Aurora, the sky will get a lot brighter once the moon is up. It's a little bit past the full moon but it will still brighten the sky. If you're more an evening observer, the moon is not going to be a problem, the smoke certainly will be."
The smoke hanging in the air could affect the view, but if the polarity is on our side, Duchesne doesn't think it'll be too much of a hindrance.
"If we have the luck that the polarity changes and we get a good strong display that might be overhead, then obviously we have a lot less atmosphere overhead than we do if we're looking laterally, so the impact of the smoke won't be as great."
Light pollution isn't as much of a problem in Foothills County as it sits in larger urban areas, though Duchesne recommends finding an optimal spot if the Northern Lights do come out.
"As always, with all Aurora shows, you do want to try to stay away from nearby sources of light, get out of town. Particularly in Okotoks, you might actually want to east or west. I'd say east. Otherwise, you're looking over all the glow from the city of Calgary. You'll want to have a good north-to-northeast horizon to see things."
For anyone wanting to keep up to date with the latest Aurora Borealis conditions, Duchesne recommends keeping an eye on the Alberta Aurora Chasers Facebook group.