A stream of solar wind struck Earth’s magnetic field this week, and observers reported bright auroras for several nights in a row. Photos from the EarthSky community, below.
From the night of September 10, over Tromsø, Norway, by Jon-Eirik Boholm. Visit Boholmphotography on Facebook.Lee Petersen captured this photo on the night of September 10 from Fairbanks, Alaska. Amazing color! Visit Lee Petersen Photo on Facebook to see the rest of this night’s album.“The brightest auroras I have ever seen in my life! This night was epic!” said Ruslan Merzlyakov in Nykøbing Mors, Denmark. This is the night of September 7. Photo used with permission. Visit Ruslan Merzlyakov on Facebook.Susan Jensen in Odessa, Washington, wrote of the night of September 8: “The Northern Lights shined high, the highest I’ve ever seen, over Odessa … Curtains of light flowed in ripples straight over my head. It was the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen.” Thank you, Susan!Rising moon and aurora around 4 a.m. on September 9, from Stacy Moe in Vergas, Minnesota.September 7 aurora from Leah Burgess at Knockmealdown Mountains in Ireland. She wrote, “… freeze my bum off up the mountains and maybe get a picture. Cold bum paid off.” It did! Thanks, Leah. Jörgen Norrland Andersson captured this aurora on September 7 over the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. Visit Jörgen Norrland Andersson on Facebook.September 7 aurora reflecting in a pond in central Maine. Photo by Mike Taylor. Visit Mike’s photography website.Jennifer Khordi captured this aurora on September 7 over the Catskills of New York state. Visit Jennifer Khordi on Facebook.Jeremy Friebel in Wisconsin submitted this photo to EarthSky, of an aurora captured on September 7. Notice the Big Dipper!Stacy Moe in Vergas, Minnesota captured this shot on September 7. Visit Stacy on Facebook.Sandor Botor caught this aurora over Falköping, Sweden on the night of September 7.
Spaceweather.com reported that on September 7:
… in Europe, colorful lights appeared over Sweden, Norway, and Finland, while electrical currents surged through the soils of the Lofoten archipelago. Northern Lights were seen in the USA as far south as Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
Bottom line: Bright auroras reported over North America and Europe on the night of September 7, 2015.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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