Those living in North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, were treated to a skywatching spectacle recently as the northern lights shone throughout the evening of November 11. These auroras blazed farther south than usual, due to a severe geomagnetic storm spawned by powerful solar eruptions.
What is it?
A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a solar eruption that sends a huge cloud of solar plasma hurtling into space. They’re often associated with solar flares — intense blasts of radiation — and occur near sunspots, which are areas of strong magnetic fields on the solar surface.
CMEs can affect our planet: Plasma clouds that strike Earth can spawn powerful geomagnetic storms, which can in turn affect power grids, radio communications and satellite navigation systems — and supercharge the auroras, as this one did.
Where is it?
This composite image was captured by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System’s (JPSS) polar-orbiting satellites.
Why is it amazing?
This stunning event was triggered by a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm, one of the strongest in recent years, caused by a CME that slammed into Earth’s magnetic field. The impact supercharged the planet’s magnetosphere, allowing charged solar particles to penetrate deeper into the atmosphere than usual. As a result, the aurora borealis —typically confined to polar regions — was seen across the continental U.S., including in states like Texas, Arizona and even parts of Mexico. The skies erupted in vibrant waves of green, pink and purple, captured in breathtaking photos by stargazers and photographers across the continent.
Using both visible and infrared wavelengths, the NOAA satellites were able to capture the hotspots of auroral activity, showing where across North America the auroras were seen.
Want to learn more?
You can learn more about the northern lights and solar flares.