View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly captured the October 10 auroral display from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He wrote: “Today’s coronal mass ejection impact was potent, sparking severe geomagnetic storms and filling our skies with auroras. The pinks and reds were astonishingly vibrant to the eye. This photo is looking due east.” Beautiful shot, Joel!
Did you see the northern and southern lights?
People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the night of October 10 to 11, 2024. There were sightings as far south as Turkey, Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas! With geomagnetic storm levels reaching G4 (severe) for extended periods, Earth’s magnetic field went through a night of disturbance to rival the May 2024 superstorm. And the auroral displays really delivered. Here’s a collection of just some of the photos that poured into our EarthSky Community Photos page. Thank you if you submitted a photo to us!
The geomagnetic storm that brought the auroras was caused by a strong coronal mass ejection – a blob of solar material and magnetic fields – that was launched straight at Earth by an X1.8 solar flare early on October 9. It impacted Earth’s magnetic field just after midday on October 10, and geomagnetic disturbance rocketed to G4 (severe) not long after. And the aurora images started to roll in as soon as the skies darkened.
Auroras everywhere!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tim Rubbert captured the auroral display from Whitefish, Montana. Tim wrote: “Looking east. The aurora borealis surrounded me in all directions and directly above.” Thank you, Tim!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sheryl R Garrison saw the aurora in Southern Alberta, Canada. Sheryl wrote: “It was almost impossible to choose just one photo tonight. But it was sure fun to start photographing early for a change! Amazingly beautiful show.” Agreed, Sheryl! Thank you.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Elmarie van Rooyen in Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada, captured last night’s aurora from below. What a great view! Thank you, Elmarie.
More amazing auroras
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kent Carlson had a great view of the aurora from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. He wrote: “Thank you X flares! At least an hour of nice auroras, many visible to the eye. Curtains of reds and pinks lit up the sky over a diffuse base of green.” Thank you X flares indeed! And thank you, Kent.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Arash Sefidgaran captured the aurora from Mitcham Common, London. Arash wrote: “After a powerful X1.8 solar flare was unleashed directly toward Earth on October 8, this breathtaking geomagnetic storm was perfectly predicted for the night of October 10-11, which was visible to the unaided eye even in heavily light-polluted skies! And how lucky can one be? Living in London with all its cloudy nights, yet on this night, the sky remained clear throughout!” Very lucky indeed, Arash! Thanks for sharing your photo.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Graham Galloway imaged the October 10 aurora from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. Thanks, Graham!
More aurora images
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Martin Curran captured this image of the aurora in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on October 11, 2024. He named his photo “fire clouds”. Thank you, Martin!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy of Depoe Bay, Oregon, captured this image on October 10, 2024, and wrote: “On the night of the northern lights, looking west, the purple pink hues of the sky and the moon’s light on the sea from the setting moon hidden behind the leaves on the left of the image make for a surreal scene.” Thank you, Cecille!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Todd Weiler captured this image in Wisconsin. Todd wrote: “One of many red-tinted auroras that came through after midnight October 11, 2024. Looking west from Harrington State Park.” Thank you, Todd!
But wait, there’s more …
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Diane Rains of Hudson, Wisconsin, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Diane wrote: “We had a light but blanketing cloud cover in Hudson during most of last night’s mega G4 aurora. There were a few moments of intense color, but I found the many pastel watercolor patterns to be lovely in their own right!” Thank you, Diane!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Glenn Hughson captured this image in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 10, 2024. Glenn wrote: “I went to Clinton Lake to try and capture photos of the aurora borealis and was not disappointed! It was even clearly visible to the unaided eye for a good while! It is extremely rare to see the northern lights in this part of Kansas, but this is the brightest that I have ever seen them around here.” Thank you, Glenn!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lisa Durick of Grand Forks, North Dakota, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Lisa wrote: “Big Dipper floating above an aurora storm.” Thank you, Lisa!
Bottom line: People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the evening of October 10 to 11, 2024. Check out some of our favorite images from the EarthSky community.
Will Triggs joined EarthSky to work on our daily newsletter, but he has since become one of the faces of space news on our YouTube channel. He fell in love with stargazing after moving to Norfolk on England's east coast, where the dark skies allowed him to catch a glimpse of the Milky Way for the first time. Having joined EarthSky after completing degrees in English and Creative Writing, he is passionate about communicating the beauty and importance of what's around us, and what's above us.
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