Time-lapse movie of the corona aurora that appeared over UAF ski trail, Fairbanks, Alaska after strong CME hit Earth’s magnetic field. Red aurora was also captured. (1:54 - 2:32am AKST, March 17, 2013)
The sun eruption sent a wave of solar particles streaking toward Earth at about 900 miles per second, according to observations by NASA and European spacecraft. That is the equivalent of a mind-boggling about 3.2 million miles per hour.
The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle and is expected to reach its peak activity in 2013.
Due to an Earth-Directed coronal mass ejection early Friday morning, northern lights, also known as Aurora Borealis were seen in parts of Canada, Alaska and even into Michigan, Saturday night. Below are some captured photos of the event.
The odds of seeing northern lights on Sunday is favorable for most of New England and upstate New York, these regions can expect mostly clear skies. The Great Lakes can expect clouds to increase and viewing conditions to deteriorate as the night progresses. Partly cloudy skies will occupy the interior Northwest, according to AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski. If you take photos of the northern lights, please send them to use via Twitter or Facebook for our photo blog story. For more information on northern lights and possible viewing areas, read "Solar Flare to Produce Spectacular Northern Lights.
This photograph of the Northern Lights is courtesy of Philippe Moussette at Observatoire Mont Cosmos, Quebec, Canada.
An Earth-Directed coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred during the early morning hours Friday.
The resulting solar flare was pointed directly at the United States for a duration of nearly two hours, according to Hunter Outten. Outten is a contributing forecaster for the AccuWeather Astronomy page.
The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south..
Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.
You're running out of time to see the Northern Lights during their latest peak.
The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, take the shape of smoking skies, pinwheels or curtains. They're seen most often near the poles, with prime viewing in late fall, winter, and very early spring.
The aurora is caused by solar particles moving in Earth's magnetosphere. NASA explains "when the magnetic fields lines reconnect in an area known as the magnetotail, energy is released and it sends the particles down onto Earth's poles." At one point the atoms give off a photon of light, which result in the spectacular colors in the sky.
