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This week has been a thrilling one for skywatchers, as beautiful aurorae were visible in locations around the world. Also known as the Northern Lights, this phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth’s atmosphere, and it is typically only seen in far northern regions near to the Arctic. But because of the unusually high level of activity from the sun, aurorae were visible much farther south than is usual, and many people were able to snap stunning images.
Beloved science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson snapped an image from Long Island in New York:
From Long Island, NY, the Aurora this evening.
Caused by charged solar particles arriving at Earth from yesterday’s solar flare. They slam into atmospheric molecules of Oxygen and Nitrogen, rendering them a-glow. Here, Red and Green are visible, with the Big Dipper looking on. pic.twitter.com/wgzCIiJUHu
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 11, 2024
And the aurorae were also visible across much of the U.K., with both the UK Met Office and the Royal Astronomy Society sharing images:
The aurora has been visible across many parts of the UK this evening
Here are some photos taken by our meteorologists situated across the country pic.twitter.com/pTvGTuRqWK
— Met Office (@metoffice) October 10, 2024
Did you see the spectacular Northern Lights last night? Here are some beautiful #aurora images from across the UK…
And a reminder of why they have put on such a show and been seen much further south this year: https://t.co/a9RKHQMdmk #northernlights pic.twitter.com/xjXKXb7bWk
— Royal Astronomical Society (@RoyalAstroSoc) October 11, 2024
The view was also caught earlier this week from space, as NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared a photo he took from the International Space Station, and many more images from skywatchers around the world are available at space.com. Aurorae photograph particularly well using a simple smartphone camera so many people were able to capture impressive images without needing any specialist equipment for astrophotography.
The reason that the views have been so impressive is the activity of the sun. The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity, and it is currently entering its most active period, called the solar maximum. The cycle is caused by the sunspots that exist on the sun’s surface, which are cooler and darker regions that are created by the sun’s magnetic field. When more of these sunspots are facing Earth, the solar activity decreases. When fewer of these sunspots are present, as is the case now, the sun’s activity increases. It is more likely to give off bursts like solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).
This week has seen four strong solar flares erupt from the sun, when powerful bursts of energy are sent out that can interfere with satellites and communications technology when they arrive at Earth, in a phenomenon called space weather.
But while these solar flares can cause problems for technology located in space, the increased solar activity also increases the number of aurorae that can be seen from Earth.
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