THE NEXT CME MIGHT BE A DUD: Yesterday's X-class solar flare produced a CME ( movie ) with an Earth-directed component. NOAA analysts think it might be a dud: "The CME associated with the X1 flare was modeled and is unlikely to have any significant Earth impacts," they say. Nevertheless, we encourage aurora watchers to be alert for geomagnetic activity on April 2nd when the CME might arrive. Aurora alerts: SMS Text . CME IMPACT SPARKS AURORAS IN THE USA: As predicted, a Cannibal CME hit Earth's magnetic field on March 31st (0210 UT). The impact caused a G1-class geomagnetic storm--weaker than the G3 storm that was expected, but still enough to spark auroras across multiple northern-tier US states. "Last night we saw some amazing auroras in North Dakota," reports Elon Gane who sends this picture from the shore of Lake Darling: Remarkably, this picture was ta...