A powerful geomagnetic storm triggered a rare and vibrant display of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) visible across unusually low latitudes on May 10-11,2024.The event, caused by a significant coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun, painted the night skies with breathtaking hues of pink, purple, green, and red, stunning observers from North America to Europe.
The extraordinary aurora was the result of a severe geomagnetic storm, classified as G4 (Severe) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Governance (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center. This storm was triggered by a coronal mass ejection (CME) - a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun - that impacted Earth's magnetosphere. The CME originated from a large sunspot cluster, AR3664, which has been particularly active in recent days.
When the CME collided with earth's magnetic field, it caused a compression and disturbance, channeling charged particles towards the poles. these particles interact with atmospheric gases - oxygen and nitrogen - exciting them and causing them to emit light, creating the aurora. The intensity of the storm and the direction of the CME's magnetic field persistent how far south the aurora was visible.