Geomagnetic storm slams into Earth, triggering vivid Northern Lights display in northern US
A powerful geomagnetic storm slammed into Earth on early Friday morning, triggering a stunning display of the Northern Lights across the northern tier of the United States.
The storm, which was classified as a G3 on a five-point scale, was caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun.
CMEs are large clouds of plasma that are ejected from the sun's atmosphere and can travel at speeds of millions of miles per hour.
When a CME interacts with Earth's magnetic field, it can cause a geomagnetic storm. During a geomagnetic storm, charged particles from the sun are accelerated towards Earth's atmosphere, where they interact with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere.
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The Northern Lights are typically only visible in high-latitude regions, such as Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia. However, during strong geomagnetic storms, the Northern Lights can be seen as far south as California and New York.
The geomagnetic storm that hit Earth on Friday morning was strong enough to trigger a vivid display of the Northern Lights across the northern US.
Skywatchers in states such as Washington, Minnesota, and Michigan reported seeing the aurora dancing across the sky.
The geomagnetic storm is expected to weaken over the next few days, but the Northern Lights may still be visible in some areas. Skywatchers should check the latest forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for more information.