On Friday, May 10, 2024, space weather forecasters began predicting a “severe” solar storm. When it came, it was even stronger than predicted, at “extreme” levels. So many people saw amazing displays of auroras last night! And the images came pouring in. The ones on this page are just a taste of what we received at EarthSky Community Photos, and in our social media feeds. Thank you to all who submitted photos! What a night for auroras around the globe!
The geomagnetic storming was due to no less than five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that left the sun this week, during a flurry of X flares. These chunks of sun material struck Earth’s magnetic field, causing a display of auroras that extended as far south on the globe as Mexico.
Why did the solar storms happen? They happened because the sun is reaching the peak of its 11-year cycle of activity. Watch our livestream from last Monday – a conversation with EarthSky founder Deborah Byrd and NASA heliophysicist C. Alex Young – on why the sun has been blasting so many X flares.
The solar storm is still happening! Read the sun news
Submit your photo to EarthSky Community Photos here
Bottom line: Auroras last night (night of May 10-11, 2024) from “extreme” geomagnetic storming – which came after a week of very high activity on the sun – wowed millions around the globe.
Claudia Crowley
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About the Author:
Claudia Crowley proofs and edits EarthSky website material. She says working for EarthSky is the most exciting job she’s had except one other – which was editing space shuttle documentation at NASA JSC. After writing and editing manuals for Dell and other major companies, she moved to the technical support side during the wild early days of the Internet, and served as general manager at a small wireless ISP. Claudia is a space enthusiast and fan of science.