Current:Home > reviewsRed and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video -Summit Capital Strategies
Red and green swirls of northern lights captured dancing in Minnesota sky: Video
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:50:45
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! (62)
Related
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Police say 1 teen dead, another injured in shooting at outside Michigan State Fair
- New page for indie bookstores: Diverse, in demand, dedicated to making a difference
- Paralympic track and field highlights: USA's Jaydin Blackwell sets world record in 100m
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Christa McAuliffe, still pioneering, is first woman with a statue on New Hampshire capitol grounds
- Clay Matthews jokes about why Aaron Rodgers wasn't at his Packers Hall of Fame induction
- 49ers wide receiver Pearsall shot during attempted robbery in San Francisco, officials say
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Investigators say crime lab improvements aided arrest of Alabama man in 24-year-old Georgia murder
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Pitt RB Rodney Hammond Jr. declared ineligible for season ahead of opener
- Tyrese opens up about '1992' and Ray Liotta's final role: 'He blessed me'
- Rapper Fatman Scoop dies at 53 after collapsing on stage in Connecticut
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- RFK Jr. sues North Carolina elections board as he seeks to remove his name from ballot
- Giving up pets to seek rehab can worsen trauma. A Colorado group intends to end that
- Selena Gomez Answers High School Volleyball Team's Request With a Surprise Visit
Recommendation
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
Venice Film Festival welcomes Pitt and Clooney, and their new film ‘Wolfs’
Alix Earle apologizes again for using racial slurs directed at Black people a decade ago
Georgia arrests point to culture problem? Oh, please. Bulldogs show culture is winning
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
California lawmakers pass ambitious bills to atone for legacy of racism against Black residents
Look: Texas' Arch Manning throws first college football touchdown pass in blowout of CSU
Judge shields second border aid group from deeper questioning in Texas investigation