Wheeler: Bright aurora displays linked to number of sunspots – InForum

FARGO — The estimated number of dark areas called sunspots on the sun’s surface hit a 20-year high this month at 299. Sunspots are cold areas on the sun’s surface and range in diameter from 10 miles to 100,000 miles. They are associated with intense magnetic activity and their presence often coincides with the northern lights.

Sunspots often emit high-intensity charged particles into space, and when they come into contact with our planet Earth’s magnetic field, they tend to gather near the geomagnetic poles, spreading out to lower latitudes in more powerful flares. The charged particles interact with gases in Earth’s outer atmosphere, causing the gases to glow. The colors of the aurora depend on the gases involved. More frequent views of the Aurora Borealis this year are due to the large number of sunspots.

John Wheeler is chief meteorologist for WDAY, a position he has held since May 1985. Wheeler grew up in the South in Louisiana and Alabama and cites his family’s move to the Midwest as important to developing his fascination with weather and climate . Wheeler lived in Wisconsin and Iowa as a teenager. He attended Iowa State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in meteorology in 1984. Wheeler worked for about a year at WOI-TV in central Iowa before moving to Fargo and WDAY.