Current:Home > ScamsRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -StockLine
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-16 21:49:38
A photographer in Minnesota was able to capture video of a mesmerizing northern lights display as swirls of red and green danced across the night sky.
Another geomagnetic storm made the colorful phenomena known as aurora borealis visible during the weekend across the Midwest region of the United States, and Carol Bauer was there to document it Sunday in Grand Marais.
“My husband and I traveled to Grand Marais to see the fall colors and were thrilled to get a great view of the northern lights too,” Bauer told Storyful.
Bauer is among millions of Americans who should expect to have more opportunities in the coming months to catch the striking display as the sun reaches the height of its 11-year cycle.
Watch the video Carol Bauer captured of the Northern Lights:
Northern lights visible across Midwest
Last week, a massive solar flare accompanied by coronal mass ejections – clouds of plasma and charged particles – made their way toward our planet, driving a geomagnetic storm that made the auroras visible in multiple northern U.S. states.
Though the the natural light display in Earth's sky is famously best seen in high-latitude regions of the northern and southern hemispheres, the northern lights became visible during the weekend across the U.S. In addition to Minnesota, the stunning display of rays, spirals and flickers could be seen in places along the U.S.-Canada border and even as far south as Oregon and Pennsylvania, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center.
Peak northern lights activity:What to know as sun reaches solar maximum
Peak aurora activity to coincide with height of solar cycle
Fortunately for aurora chasers, there will be far more opportunities to catch the northern lights soon.
Electromagnetic activity is increasing as the sun continues to reach the height of its 11-year solar cycle, which NASA said is expected to be in 2025.
As the sun reaches the peak of Solar Cycle 25, sunspots located in regions of intense magnetic activity should increase, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When that magnetic activity is released, it creates intense bursts of radiation resulting in solar flares hurtling toward Earth at the speed of light.
Some of these flares can be accompanied by coronal mass ejections that emerge from the sun's outermost atmosphere, the corona.
These ejections can collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier protecting humanity from the harshest impacts of space weather, to produce geomagnetic storms that unleash spectacular views of the northern lights in parts of the country where auroras are not often visible.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
veryGood! (3623)
Related
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Justice Department sues Texas over law that would let police arrest migrants who enter US illegally
- Idaho man arrested after flying stolen plane from North Las Vegas into California
- Court records related to Jeffrey Epstein are set to be released, but they aren’t a client list
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Unsealed court records offer new detail on old sex abuse allegations against Jeffrey Epstein
- NASA spacecraft makes its closest-ever approach to Jupiter's moon Io, releases new images of the solar system's most volcanic world
- Chief judge is replaced in a shakeup on the North Carolina Court of Appeals
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Rayner Pike, beloved Associated Press journalist known for his wit and way with words, dies at 90
Ranking
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Penguins line up to be counted while tiger cub plays as London zookeepers perform annual census
- U-Haul report shows this state attracted the most number of people relocating
- Puerto Rico comptroller strikes down popular slogan used by governor’s office
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Have you already broken your New Year's resolution?
- Like it or not, Peanut Butter and Bacon Cheeseburger debuts this month at Sonic for limited time
- Taiwan reports China sent 4 suspected spy balloons over the island, some near key air force base
Recommendation
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Beyoncé breaks the internet again: All 5 Destiny's Child members reunite in epic photo
Founding member of Mr. Bungle arrested after girlfriend's remains found in California woods
A message from the plants: US is getting a lot warmer, new analysis says
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
South Korean opposition leader is recovering well from surgery after stabbing attack, doctor says
Trump appeals Maine secretary of state's decision barring him from primary ballot
Woman headed for girls trip struck, killed as she tries to get luggage off road