May 13, 2021 10:40 PM EDT
A rare display of the northern lights was seen in areas of the northern United States early Wednesday as a surprise storm rocked Earth s magnetic field, leaving skywatchers looking upward at pastel hues. There s a possibility that the show will resume Wednesday night, thanks to energetic particles striking the planet s upper atmosphere.
(Photo : Image by John David McKinnon from SpaceWeather.com)
The northern lights have been seen in Alaska and Minnesota and in Canada and areas of Europe and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, they were joined by their southern counterparts.
Geomagnetic Storm
The geomagnetic storm hit a level 3 on a 1-to-5 scale, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service s Space Weather Prediction Center; level 3 storming will easily bring the lights dancing south into the Lower 48, although the most dramatic storming this time happened during daylight hours on Wednesday.
Aurora sighted in northern U.S. as powerful geomagnetic storm continues Matthew Cappucci Northern lights Wednesday morning in the Sandhill Crane Marsh, Alberta, Canada. (John David McKinnon via SpaceWeather.com) A surprise storm rocking Earth’s magnetic field brought a rare display of the northern lights to parts of the northern United States early Wednesday, sending skywatchers staring upward at pastel hues. There’s a chance that observers could be treated once again Wednesday night as the display potentially continues courtesy of energetic particles striking the planet’s upper atmosphere. The northern lights were sighted in Alaska and Minnesota, as well as across Canada and into parts of Europe and the United Kingdom. Their southern counterparts also made an appearance in New Zealand.The sun may offer key to predicting El Niño, groundbreaking study finds