"Northern Lights" in San Diego Update

Some interesting responses were posted by followers about the pictures Maggie shared with me. Some responses were noctilucent clouds, while another follower, Daniel Vogler, added, "Judging by the type of pattern it takes and the time of day, I ruled out noctilucent clouds. It is aurora borealis, although rare. I did mention in my post that we had a lot of solar activity and solar wind headed our way. This was probably what got through. She is a lucky lady to have captured it! Kudos! SoCal has seen them before. Just very, very rare."

So, the possibility is there that Maggie captured something very, very rare! I have lived north of 40 degrees latitude my whole life and have never seen the northern lights, so it is quite the sight to see them to the south of 35 north, where San Diego is.

Again, here is a photograph of the northern lights (??) taken by Maggie Burington in San Diego, California looking toward Mt. Miguel on the night of April 20th, 2011:

Another, though somewhat different, idea was shared by another facebook member, Harry Frisby, Jr. He shared with me this article, which can be read by clicking here.

Wow, that is shocking! What is going on here? Can things be changing with our star, the sun? If so, how will this change things here on Earth? What do you think?

Please join the AccuWeather.com Astronomy fanpage by clicking here. You can leave your comments there, as well, and be part of a community where discussions on this or any other astronomy subject take place. We have over 1,300 likes on Facebook, and with your help we will get to 2,000 soon. Tell your friends about this site and blog, and weigh in on some exciting issues. We encourage open discussion and will never criticize any idea, and no negative conversation will be allowed.