Photo: Zoltan Kewell / Chip Lake, Alberta, Canada / Courtesy spaceweather.com
Another free light show greeted residents from Iowa into Canada the on the morning of July 22nd as a stream of solar particles interacted with the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere, making for a brilliant Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights.
"I was up all night on July 21st, but it was totally worth it!" says photographer Zoltan Kenwell of Chip Lake, Alberta. "It was a very impressive show that lasted 4.5 hours!" says Kenwell.
This was a surprise to forecasters because the energy stream from the sun at that time was quite low. A “chink” in our planet’s invisible armor, the magnetic field, allowed highly energized solar particles (the solar “wind”) to flood in.
These Northern Lights made it as far south as the Midwest (Iowa). Since the gap in the magnetic field has disappeared, the event is now concluded.
Information from spaceweather.com as well as personal knowledge was used in writing this report.
You might also enjoy these:
Comments