Current:Home > InvestRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -Lighthouse Finance Hub
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-21 17:59:42
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! (88)
Related
- Kehlani Responds to Hurtful Accusation She’s in a Cult
- Jill Biden arrives solo in London for King Charles' coronation
- At the U.S. Open, line judges are out. Automated calls are in
- Would you like a side of offshoring with that?
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Bruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Feeling Grief and Sadness on Actor's Birthday Amid His Health Battle
- How to protect your privacy when using mental health care apps
- How to know when you spend too much time online and need to log off
- 'Most Whopper
- King Charles to reuse golden coronation robes worn by his predecessors
Ranking
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- The White House is turning to TikTok stars to take its message to a younger audience
- The White House calls for more regulations as cryptocurrencies grow more popular
- COVID global health emergency is officially ending, WHO says, but warns virus remains a risk
- IOC's decision to separate speed climbing from other disciplines paying off
- Only 31 new emojis will be introduced this year as approvals slow to a trickle
- Biden has $52 billion for semiconductors. Today, work begins to spend that windfall
- Does your rewards card know if you're pregnant? Privacy experts sound the alarm
Recommendation
Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
Mother of Austin Tice, journalist kidnapped in Syria in 2012, continues pushing for his release
Outer Banks' Madelyn Cline Shares Birthday Message for Her Love Jackson Guthy
Riverdale Final Season Sneak Peek: Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart and the Gang Are Stuck in the 1950s
Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
Nebraska cops used Facebook messages to investigate an alleged illegal abortion
Damien Hirst just burned 1,000 of his paintings and will soon burn thousands more
A former CIA engineer is convicted in a massive theft of secrets released by WikiLeaks