Spectacular Northern Lights Captivate Social Media During Solar Storm

Early on Sunday morning, the sky was illuminated by a breathtaking northern lights exhibition, bringing joy to many and flooding social media with awe-inspiring photographs. This extraordinary phenomenon was triggered by a solar storm that was anticipated to bypass Earth on Saturday. Initially, the specialists at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center had forecasted a relatively mild geomagnetic storm (G1) for Saturday night through Sunday morning. Nevertheless, it unexpectedly escalated into a more potent G2 event, allowing the Northern Lights to be observed even in regions nearer to the equator.

The timing and intensity of the geomagnetic storm was somewhat uncertain, as it depended on when the Sun’s coronal mass ejection (CME) reached Earth and how much it affected our planet’s magnetic field.

During a G1 or G2 storm, one of the most common effects is that the northern lights appear further south than usual. These beautiful displays are caused by solar flares from the Sun. Charged particles from these flares interact with gases high in our atmosphere to create different colors of light. NASA explains that the colors vary due to the different gas particles in the atmosphere and the type of light they emit.

People all over North America, from Alaska to New Hampshire and even in places like Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and the prairies, captured these breathtaking aurora borealis and shared them on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter).

What are Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)?

Coronal Mass Ejections or CMEs are massive eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s outer layer, called the corona. They can release billions of tons of material and carry a strong magnetic field. CMEs travel at different speeds, with some reaching Earth in just 15-18 hours, while others last for several days. As they move away from the Sun, CMEs increase in size, and some can cover a significant portion of the space between the Earth and the Sun upon arrival.