Current:Home > FinanceRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -LegacyBuild Academy
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-16 20:54:50
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! (766)
Related
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- NFL schedule today: Everything to know about football games on Jan. 7
- Jennifer Lawrence and Lenny Kravitz’s Hunger Games Reunion Proves the Odds Are in Our Favor
- Love comes through as Packers beat Bears 17-9 to clinch a playoff berth
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- 2024 Golden Globes: Dua Lipa Weighs in on Her Future Acting Career After Barbie
- NFL schedule today: Everything to know about football games on Jan. 7
- China intelligence agency says it has detained individual accused of collecting secrets for Britain
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- White House wasn't notified of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization for several days
Ranking
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- LensCrafters class action lawsuit over AcccuFit has $39 million payout: See if you qualify
- German farmers block highway access roads, stage protests against plan to scrap diesel tax breaks
- Saltburn's Rosamund Pike Explains Her Viral Golden Globes 2024 Red Carpet Look
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- ‘Soldiers of Christ’ killing unsettles Korean Americans in Georgia and stokes fear of cults
- A new immigration policy that avoids a dangerous journey is working. But border crossings continue
- Why Pedro Pascal's Arm Was in a Cast at 2024 Golden Globes Red Carpet
Recommendation
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
4 children, 1 man die in West Virginia house fire, officials say
See Bill Hader and Ali Wong Share a Passionate Kiss During Golden Globes 2024
Explainer: Missing door ‘plug’ may hold vital clues to how a gaping hole blew open on a jetliner
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
See Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt's Groundbreaking Devil Wears Prada Reunion at Golden Globes 2024
Golden Globes 2024: See All the Couples Enjoying an Award-Worthy Date Night
Margot Robbie Shares How Her Girlfriends Feel About Her Onscreen Kisses With Hollywood's Hottest Men