Current:Home > MarketsRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -AssetLink
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-24 18:56:30
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! (9)
Related
- Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
- Adele and Rich Paul Dress Comfy for Date Night at Lakers Game
- 9-1-1 Cancelled by Fox, Saved by Another Network in TV Shocker
- Get 2 It Cosmetics CC Creams for the Price of 1 and Replace 5 Steps in Your Routine
- A New York Appellate Court Rejects a Broad Application of the State’s Green Amendment
- See How Rihanna, Kylie Jenner and More Switched Up Their Met Gala Looks for After-Party Attire
- Roger Cohen
- Our Favorite Viral TikTok Products That Are Actually Worth the Buy
- Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
- Kate Moss Twins With Her Look-Alike Daughter Lila Moss on Met Gala 2023 Red Carpet
Ranking
- Bet365 ordered to refund $519K to customers who it paid less than they were entitled on sports bets
- Get $210 Worth of Philosophy Skincare and Perfume for Just $72
- Celebrity Hairstylist Sarah Potempa Shares 3 Fun, Fuss-Free Looks for Stagecoach
- Raquel Leviss Admits to Sleeping Over at Tom Sandoval's in Bombshell Vanderpump Rules Preview
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- 17 Surprising Met Gala Secrets Revealed: $30,000 Tickets, an Age Limit and Absolutely No Selfies
- The Truth About Anna Wintour and Bill Nighy's Relationship After Met Gala 2023 Appearance
- Migrant Crisis: ‘If We Don’t Stop Climate Change…What We See Right Now Is Just the Beginning’
Recommendation
Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
Wayfair Way Day Doorbusters: Last Day to Get $119 Sheets for $16 and Deals on KitchenAid, Dyson, and More
Lily Collins and Camila Morrone's Esthetician Reveals the Acne Treatment Hiding in Your Kitchen
Nicole Kidman Channels Herself for the 2023 Met Gala Like the Icon She Is
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Glen Powell and Girlfriend Gigi Paris Break Up
We're Unconditionally and Irrevocably in Love With Kristen Stewart's Met Gala 2023 Look
Shop the Best New April 2023 Beauty Launches From Glossier, CLE Cosmetics, Juvia's Place & More