Surprisingly Strong Aurora early Tuesday
One of the strongest auroras of the year so far occurred Tuesday morning. The aurora borealis was vivid across the northern tier of the United States and in Canada.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unedited pictures from last night's Northern Lights party at Lily Pond in Hancock Township, MI around 3am. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AuroraBorealis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AuroraBorealis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NorthernLights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NorthernLights</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeweenawPeninsula?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeweenawPeninsula</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Aurora?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Aurora</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StormHour?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StormHour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PureMichigan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PureMichigan</a> <a href="https://t.co/wZAlA44Tdk">pic.twitter.com/wZAlA44Tdk</a></p>— Isaac (@ID_Photo_Graphy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ID_Photo_Graphy/status/1128284544493289472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The aurora was picked up by a digital camera as far south as northern Ohio and Iowa.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By pure chance the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) decided to dance in the NW Ohio sky last night, I for some reason had my camera ready. <a href="https://twitter.com/13abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@13abc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RossElletWX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RossElletWX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EricElwell_TV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EricElwell_TV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyDWeather?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KellyDWeather</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/spann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spann</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/StormHour?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StormHour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WeatherNation</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AuroraBorealis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AuroraBorealis</a> <a href="https://t.co/KeULuy2nm9">pic.twitter.com/KeULuy2nm9</a></p>— Tyler Hofelich (@BlackSwampStorm) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackSwampStorm/status/1128282814502383617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
It was a bit of a surprise to get this strong of an aurora. The Space Weather Perdiction Center (SWPC) rated the solar storm as a G-3, as strong as any we have seen in recent years. It was caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME occurred when there was a series of explosions near a sunspot over the weekend.
Check out this video which shows the aurora in real time. (Most videos of auroras are time lapses).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Real time video of last night's Northern Lights at Lily Pond in Hancock Township, MI around 3am. If you turn on the sound, you can hear crickets and frogsð<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NorthernLights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NorthernLights</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AuroraBorealis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AuroraBorealis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeweenawPeninsula?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeweenawPeninsula</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Aurora?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Aurora</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StormHour?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StormHour</a> <a href="https://t.co/UdgNSSmkIW">pic.twitter.com/UdgNSSmkIW</a></p>— Isaac (@ID_Photo_Graphy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ID_Photo_Graphy/status/1128299345667940354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The solar storm has waned. But, the SWPC expects G-1 solar storm activity Wednesday, and G-2 level storm activity Thursday.
See more detailed information via the Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard If the G-2 prediction verifies, then the aurora should be able to be seen with the naked eye north of about 45 degrees. It could be photographed as far south as 40 degrees! Good luck, and happy Aurora hunting over the next couple of nights! Thanks for readling! Just look up; you never know what you will see.
Report a Typo
