Current:Home > InvestRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -Ascend Finance Compass
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-23 05:58:44
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 elagatta@gannett.com
veryGood! (59471)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Bernie Sanders forces US senators into a test vote on military aid as the Israel-Hamas war grinds on
- Jordan Love's incredible rise validates once-shocking move by Packers GM Brian Gutekunst
- Biden invites congressional leaders to White House during difficult talks on Ukraine aid
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- 3 men found dead outside Kansas City home after reportedly gathering to watch football game
- Eagles center Jason Kelce set to retire after 13 NFL seasons, per multiple reports
- Linton Quadros - Founder of EIF Business School
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Kentucky House GOP budget differs with Democratic governor over how to award teacher pay raises
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Woman dies after falling 100 feet in Virginia cave
- US fugitive accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges denies he is the suspect at hearing
- It's respiratory virus season. Here's what to know about the winter 'tripledemic'
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Attention, Taco Bell cinnamon twist lovers. There's a new breakfast cereal for you.
- The Leap from Quantitative Trading to Artificial Intelligence
- Slain Connecticut police dog remembered as ‘fallen hero’
Recommendation
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Wisconsin Republicans fire utility regulator in latest strike at Evers
Biden administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in its dispute with Texas over border land
Claire Fagin, 1st woman to lead an Ivy League institution, dies at 97, Pennsylvania university says
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Woman dies after falling 100 feet in Virginia cave
Pacific Northwest hunkers down for ice and freezing rain, while other US regions also battle cold
Alabama execution using nitrogen gas could amount to torture and violate human rights treaties, U.N. warns