Most Spectacular Auroras of this Solar Cycle Last Night

March 18th, 2015 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

Last night’s aurora event is being described by many as the most spectacular of this solar cycle, resulting from a severe geomagnetic storm (G4 intensity) as a coronal mass ejection from the sun hit the upper atmosphere.

New photos of the event continue to pour in from around the world at the SpaceWeather.com aurora photo gallery, which is running very slow right now.

Here are a handful of the photos posted there. Note the wide range of colors.

Dunedin, New Zealand (Dave Curtis).

Dunedin, New Zealand (Dave Curtis).

Latvia, Europe (Eduard Panichev)

Latvia, Europe (Eduard Panichev)

South Hero, Vermont (Jeremy Gilchrist)

South Hero, Vermont (Jeremy Gilchrist)

Oulu, Finland (Jani Mollari)

Oulu, Finland (Jani Mollari)


6 Responses to “Most Spectacular Auroras of this Solar Cycle Last Night”

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  1. Norman says:

    Beautiful!

  2. Linda says:

    The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament displays His handiwork….

  3. ossqss says:

    3- G4 level events yesterday certainly extended the viewing time. The picture gallery is definitely being impacted by so many folks uploading them to their blog, Oh wait 🙂

    http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/notifications-in-effect-timeline.png

    Trivia question: When was the last time we witnessed a G4 level event? How about a G5?

  4. Thanks, Dr. Spencer.
    Beautiful pictures!

  5. Francisco says:

    You know why god gave the Northern countries and far North regions Auroras?… Because there’s nothing else to see! (Canadian sarcasm. Truth, I am really envious that we had overcast skies as far as the eye could see)

    Seen them just a handful of times and, although the photos are gorgeous, they do not do justice. And this storm was spectacular… from what I hear.

  6. Reziac says:

    This one also caught a meteor!

    http://spaceweathergallery.com/full_image.php?image_name=Grant-Grieve-20150319-171A4443-3_1426763213.jpg

    (Lower left. Streak to upper right is probably a plane.)

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