Watch the video above: A severe solar storm slammed Earth on Monday afternoon, pushing shimmering polar auroras to places where more people can possibly see them.
TORONTO – It was anticipated to be quite the night for the northern lights and it wasn’t a disappointment.
Those who had clear skies were treated to a display of the northern lights, or aurora, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a very long time.
From Canada to the United States, the sky erupted in a dazzling display of colour — green, red, purple — as particles from the sun ignited Earth’s magnetosphere. The southern lights, or aurora australis, also stretched across the sky.
The sun’s been quite active of late, with a large sunspot unleashing medium-class solar flares and then coronal mass ejections. When these particles are carried along the solar wind, they interact with Earth’s magnetosphere, which result in the colourful display.
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