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Credit & Copyright: Chris Petrich
Explanation:
Last weekend
skygazers at middle and high latitudes around the globe
were treated to expansive auroral displays as a magnetic storm raged
around
planet Earth.
The storm was triggered by a solar coronal
mass ejection associated
with the giant sunspot group cataloged as active region
number 9393.
For example, pictured here in the early morning hours of April 1, the
skies over New Zealand are alive
with "southern lights".
In the wide-angle time exposure, a towering red aurora is visible
suspended above the foreground of a well lit lumber yard, train
station, church steeple and buildings of the city of Dunedin.
On April 2, the
largest
solar flare of the last 25 years also erupted
near active region 9393, but because of its position near the Sun's
edge the effects were largely directed away from
our fair planet.
However, all the recent solar activity underscores the fact that the
solar maximum is still
with us.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: aurora - active Sun - magnetic storm
Publications with words: aurora - active Sun - magnetic storm
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 8 Á Aurora around Saturns North Pole
- APOD: 2024 October 16 Á Colorful Aurora over New Zealand
- APOD: 2024 October 13 Á Aurora Timelapse Over Italian Alps
- Northern Lights, West Virginia
- Aurora Australis and the International Space Station
- APOD: 2024 June 26 Á Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way
- APOD: 2024 June 12 Á Aurora over Karkonosze Mountains