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Stunning Northern Lights Illuminate the Sky Amid Solar Storm

Katelyn Long03 mins

Auroras and Solar Activity

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections released from the sun are causing colorful auroras to be visible farther south than they typically occur. This solar storm is not expected to match the intensity of the event that happened in May, however, it may still interfere with communications, the power grid, and satellite operations, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The Science Behind Auroras

Increased solar activity generates auroras that dance around Earth’s poles, known as the northern lights or aurora borealis, and southern lights or aurora australis. When energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere, creating a mesmerizing display of colored lights in the night sky.

Viewing the Unseen

Interestingly, even if auroras do not appear visible to the naked eye, photos of the night sky may reveal colors that are otherwise undetectable without specialized equipment.

Auroras light the sky over Great Chart Church in Ashford, England, on Thursday.
Auroras light the sky over Great Chart Church in Ashford, England. Gareth Fuller/PA/AP
The northern lights are seen Thursday in Falmouth, Maine.
The northern lights are seen Thursday in Falmouth, Maine. David Sharp/AP
Auroras glow in the night sky above apartment buildings in the Queens borough of New York on Thursday.
Auroras glow in the night sky above apartment buildings in Queens, New York. Daniel P. Derella/AP
The northern lights are seen in Sodankyla, Finland, on Tuesday, October 8.
The northern lights are seen in Sodankyla, Finland, on Tuesday, October 8.
The Milky Way and northern lights are seen together as the aurora makes a rare appearance in the Eastern Sierra mountains of California.
The Milky Way and northern lights together in the Eastern Sierra mountains of California. David McNew/Getty Images
Aurora borealis light up the sky over an old grain elevator in Brant, Canada on Monday, October 7.
Aurora borealis light up the sky over an old grain elevator in Brant, Canada on Monday, October 7.
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick posted this photo of the northern lights from the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this photo of the northern lights from the International Space Station. Matthew Dominick/NASA
People watch the northern lights in Durham, England on Monday.
People watch the northern lights in Durham, England on Monday. Lewis Brown/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock
The northern lights are seen over a home near Cremona, Canada, on Monday.
The northern lights are seen over a home near Cremona, Canada, on Monday. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press/AP


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