A huge solar flare started the spectacle polar aurora in some areas of the Earth. 28, a powerful solar flame released a wave of charged particles that reached Earth just in time for Halloween last night. This caused the geomagnetic storm of Class G3 In Earth’s upper atmosphere, polar auroras can form, most commonly seen around the North Pole, at latitudes much lower than normal.
The spectacle of the aurora enthralled observers of northern Europe, as Lapland, Iceland, Russia, Scotland, England northern, but also Canada (See sliding gallery photo above).
The northern and southern lights occur when charged particles from the solar wind collide with particles in Earth’s upper atmosphere, causing a visible glow from the surface. These particles are carried toward Earth’s poles by the planet’s magnetic field, which makes them normally visible from the high latitudes closest to the poles.
During a large solar flare, the Sun can release powerful radiation storms and explosions known as coronal mass ejections that send far more charged particles to Earth than the normal solar wind. That’s what happened during the October 28 solar flare, which sent a coronal mass ejection toward Earth at 3.5 million kilometers per hour. This wave of particles reached Earth on the night of October 30 to 31, making auroras visible at lower latitudes. These conditions are expected to continue through Halloween night.
Freelance twitter maven. Infuriatingly humble coffee aficionado. Amateur gamer. Typical beer fan. Avid music scholar. Alcohol nerd.
