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Credit & Copyright: Duane Clausen
Explanation:
Few auroras show this level of detail.
This unusual display of an
auroral corona occurred on
Earth three days
after an unusual solar event -- the fifth
most powerful explosion yet recorded on the
Sun.
An X14-class solar flare on April 15 sent a tremendous
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) into the Solar System.
This CME did not directly impact the
Earth.
The Solar-System wide shock wave it created probably did,
however, causing a
G3-class geomagnetic storm and a night filled with
colorful auroras across much of northern
North America.
The unusual red color of this
Michigan aurora is
caused by solar ions striking
oxygen molecules 300 kilometers high in
Earth's atmosphere.
More typical green auroras are
caused by oxygen recombining only 100 kilometers high.
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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 - corona
Publications with words: aurora - corona
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