CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth could produce northern lights in the U.S. this weekend and potentially disrupt power and communications.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth could produce northern lights in the U.S. this weekend and potentially disrupt power and communications.
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Northern lights glow in the sky near Kroschel, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (Owen Caputo Sullivan via AP)
The crescent moon sets below the northern lights Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Old tombstones stand against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
An old tombstone stands against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse, Germany, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Lando Hass/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse, Germany, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Lando Hass/dpa via AP)
Northern lights glow in the night sky above the village of Daillens, Switzerland, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
Northern lights shine over Portsmouth, N.H., Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The northern lights shine over Portsmouth, N.H., Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Northern lights appear in the night sky above the Brocken early Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Schierke, northern Germany. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
In this long exposure photograph, a car drives past and illuminates poplars as the northern lights glow in the night sky above the village of Daillens, Switzerland, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
Northern lights appear in the night sky above the Brocken early Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Schierke, northern Germany. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear over the Dreisamtal valley in the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany, Friday evening, May 10, 2024. (Valentin Gensch/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear over the Dreisamtal valley in the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany, Friday evening, May 10, 2024. (Valentin Gensch/dpa via AP)
This image provided by NASA shows a solar flare, as seen in the bright flash in the lower right, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on May 9, 2024. A severe geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for Earth starting Friday and lasting all weekend _ the first in nearly 20 years. (NASA/SDO via AP)
NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit to take precautions, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, according to NOAA. But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.
“That’s really the gift from space weather — the aurora,” said Steenburgh. He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.
Snap a picture of the sky and “there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.
The most intense solar storm in recorded history, in 1859, prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii. “We are not anticipating that” but it could come close, said NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl.
This storm poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters. Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.
An extreme geomagnetic storm in 2003, for example, took out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Even when the storm is over, signals between GPS satellites and ground receivers could be scrambled or lost, according to NOAA. But there are so many navigation satellites that any outages should not last long, Steenburgh noted.
The sun has produced strong solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma. Each eruption — known as a coronal mass ejection — can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.
The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, according to NOAA. It’s all part of the solar activity that’s ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.
NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The biggest concern is the increased radiation levels, and the crew could move to a better shielded part of the station if necessary, according to Steenburgh.
Increased radiation also could threaten some of NASA’s science satellites. Extremely sensitive instruments will be turned off, if necessary, to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the space agency’s heliophysics science division.
Several sun-focused spacecraft are monitoring all the action.
“This is exactly the kinds of things we want to observe,” Pulkkinen said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Northern lights glow in the sky near Kroschel, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (Owen Caputo Sullivan via AP)
The crescent moon sets below the northern lights Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest near Markville, Minn., late Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Old tombstones stand against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
An old tombstone stands against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024, near Skidmore, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse, Germany, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Lando Hass/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse, Germany, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Lando Hass/dpa via AP)
Northern lights glow in the night sky above the village of Daillens, Switzerland, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
Northern lights shine over Portsmouth, N.H., Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The northern lights shine over Portsmouth, N.H., Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Northern lights appear in the night sky above the Brocken early Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Schierke, northern Germany. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
In this long exposure photograph, a car drives past and illuminates poplars as the northern lights glow in the night sky above the village of Daillens, Switzerland, early Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
Northern lights appear in the night sky above the Brocken early Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Schierke, northern Germany. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear over the Dreisamtal valley in the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany, Friday evening, May 10, 2024. (Valentin Gensch/dpa via AP)
Northern lights appear over the Dreisamtal valley in the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany, Friday evening, May 10, 2024. (Valentin Gensch/dpa via AP)
This image provided by NASA shows a solar flare, as seen in the bright flash in the lower right, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on May 9, 2024. A severe geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for Earth starting Friday and lasting all weekend _ the first in nearly 20 years. (NASA/SDO via AP)
LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.
High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.
Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.
Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S. should “read the situation” and drop the case.
“As a family we are relieved but how long can this go on?" she said. “This case is shameful and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian."
The Australian computer expert has spent the last five years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.
American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published.
Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “flagrant denial of justice.”
The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classified government documents.
The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over Assange’s claim that by releasing the confidential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.
The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.
They said the assurance that Assange could “raise and seek to rely upon” the First Amendment fell short of the protections he deserved. Further, they argued that the prosecutor refused to say he would not challenge Assange’s right to use such a defense.
“The real issue is whether an adequate assurance has been provided to remove the real risk identified by the court,” Fitzgerald said. “It is submitted that no adequate assurance has been made.”
Attorney James Lewis, representing the U.S., said Assange would be “entitled to the full panoply of due process trial rights” but said some of his conduct was “simply unprotected” by the First Amendment.
“No one, neither U.S. citizens nor foreign citizens, are entitled to rely on the First Amendment in relation to publication of illegally obtained national defense information giving the names of innocent sources, to their grave and imminent risk of harm,” Lewis said.
The court ruled that Assange could appeal on two grounds, both of which were related to the free press issue.
The judges said if he was deprived of a First Amendment defense then his extradition could be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, which also provides free speech and media protections. Secondly, if he can't rely on the First Amendment because he's not a U.S. citizen then he could be treated unfairly because of his nationality.
Assange's lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, though American authorities have said any sentence would likely be much shorter.
Assange’s family and supporters say his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles, which includes seven years spent inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London from 2012 until 2019. He has spent the past five years in a British high-security prison.
Commuters emerging from a Tube stop near the courthouse couldn’t miss a large sign bearing Assange’s photo and the words, “Publishing is not a crime. War crimes are.”
Scores of supporters gathered outside the neo-Gothic Royal Courts of Justice chanting “Free Julian Assange” and “Press freedom, Assange freedom.” Some held white flags aimed at President Joe Biden, exhorting: “Let him go Joe.”
Biden said last month that he was considering a request from Australia to drop the case and let Assange return to his home country.
Officials provided no other details but Assange's wife said it was “a good sign” and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the comment was encouraging.
Assange’s U.S. lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the ruling was “a significant milestone” in the long-running case.
“I hope that the United States will take a hard look at this decision and maybe reconsider whether they should be pursing this fundamentally flawed prosecution,” he said.
Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
This court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of barrister Edward Fitzgerald KC, centre, standing, Julian Assange's father John Shipton, second left, and Julian Assange's wife Stella Assange at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday May 20, 2024. Assange can appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)
A poster of Julian Assange is left by protesters outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, sits in a taxi as she leaves the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives with the legal team at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, addresses the media as she arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London, Wednesday May 1, 2019. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in England over whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
London court to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Assange is extradited to the US
London court to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Assange is extradited to the US
