Current:Home > MarketsRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -VisionFunds
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-12 05:03:51
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! (3189)
Related
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Family of West Virginia 13-year-old who was struck, killed by off-duty deputy demands jury trial
- Groups of juveniles go on looting sprees in Philadelphia; more than a dozen arrested
- Scottish officials approve UK’s first drug consumption room intended for safer use of illegal drugs
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Ohio wants to resume enforcing its abortion law. Justices are weighing the legal arguments
- Bruce Springsteen postpones all 2023 tour dates until 2024 as he recovers from peptic ulcer disease
- Biden to send disaster assistance to Louisiana, as salt water threatens the state’s drinking water
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- A Danish artist who submitted empty frames as artwork is appealing court ruling to repay the cash
Ranking
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Community' star Chevy Chase says NBC show 'wasn't funny enough for me'
- Bruce Springsteen postpones all 2023 tour dates until 2024 as he recovers from peptic ulcer disease
- Kia and Hyundai recall more than 3 million vehicles due to the risk of fire
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Film academy to replace Hattie McDaniel's historic missing Oscar at Howard University
- Massachusetts man stabs five officers after crashing into home following chase, police say
- Crucial for a Clean Energy Economy, the Aluminum Industry’s Carbon Footprint Is Enormous
Recommendation
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
In 'Cassandro,' a gay luchador finds himself, and international fame
Chelsea Handler Debuts New Boyfriend Over a Year After Jo Koy Breakup
Florida Gov. DeSantis discriminated against Black voters by dismantling congressional district, lawyer argues
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
'Wow, I'm an Olympian': American breakdancing world champ books ticket to Paris Olympics
One Real Housewives of Orange County Star Hints at Quitting in Dramatic Season 17 Reunion Trailer
Deion Sanders still winning in Black community after first loss at Colorado