In photos: Aurora borealis dazzles amidst solar storm.
On Thursday, October 10, the northern lights glow red over a barn in East Derry, New Hampshire.
Charles Krupa/AP
Updated 11:20 PM EDT, Thu October 10, 2024
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun cause colorful auroras to be visible farther south than usual. Although this solar storm isn’t expected to be as strong as the one in May, it could still disrupt communications, power grids, and satellite operations, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
Increased solar activity leads to the stunning auroras near Earth’s poles, known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and southern lights (aurora australis). When energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth's magnetic field, they interact with atmospheric gases, creating the vibrant lights in the sky.
Even if the auroras aren’t visible to the naked eye, night sky photographs might capture colors that can’t be seen otherwise.
A photographer captures images of the northern lights at Shenandoah National Park in Rileyville, Virginia, on Thursday. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
The northern lights were visible from the Pujalt Astronomical Observatory in Pujalt, Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday. Lorena Sopêna/Europa Press/AP
Lewis Brown/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock
The northern lights were visible from Lewes, Delaware, on Thursday.
Shannon Marvel McNaught/USA Today Network/Imagn Images
Auroras lit up the night sky above apartment buildings in Queens, New York, on Thursday. Daniel P. Derella/AP
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared this photo of the northern lights taken from the International Space Station on Monday. Matthew Dominick/NASA