Current:Home > ContactRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -MacroWatch
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
TrendPulse View
Date:2025-04-11 03:54:13
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! (6)
Related
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Ukraine prime minister calls for more investment in war-torn country during Chicago stop of US visit
- 2 men exchange gunfire at Flint bus station, leaving 1 in critical condition
- The Daily Money: Big cuts at Best Buy
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Campus crime is spiking to pre-pandemic levels. See your college’s numbers in our data.
- Custody battle, group 'God's Misfits' at center of missing Kansas moms' deaths: Affidavit
- Taylor Swift reporter, influencers to discuss 'Tortured Poets' live on Instagram
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Yoto Mini Speakers for children recalled due to burn and fire hazards
Ranking
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- The Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws
- ABBA, Blondie, The Notorious B.I.G. among 2024's additions to National Recording Registry
- Kate Hudson Defends Her Brother Oliver Hudson Against Trolls
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- When is the 2024 NFL draft? Dates, times, location for this year's extravaganza
- How NHL tiebreaker procedures would determine who gets into the playoffs
- The hard part is over for Caitlin Clark. Now, she has WNBA draft class to share spotlight
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Campus crime is spiking to pre-pandemic levels. See your college’s numbers in our data.
Indiana limits abortion data for privacy under near-total ban, but some GOP candidates push back
Is it bad to ghost low priority potential employers? Ask HR
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Former shoemaker admits he had an illegal gambling operation in his Brooklyn shop
The push for school choice in Nebraska is pitting lawmakers against their constituents
The hard part is over for Caitlin Clark. Now, she has WNBA draft class to share spotlight