On 8 May, a series of powerful flares occurred on the Sun, accompanied by coronal mass ejections. Two days later, they reached the Earth, which led to a historic geomagnetic storm, without any exaggeration: it was the strongest since 2003.
The most powerful storm resulted in the formation of auroras at much lower latitudes than usual, and they were observed in such “atypical” regions of the Earth as Florida, Mexico, the Canary Islands and the Bahamas. In addition to their vast geography, the lights were also distinguished by a very rich palette of colours and shapes.
Naturally, the unique celestial show was actively photographed by both casual eyewitnesses and professional astrophotographers. A huge number of colourful images taken in different parts of the world can be found on the World Wide Web. The Universe Space Tech team has compiled a selection of the best of them, demonstrating the scale of the unique celestial show.
The aurora borealis in the Netherlands. Source: Albert Dros
The aurora borealis in Tasmania. Source: Sean O’ Riordan
Aurora Borealis over the ruins of a church in Ireland. Source:Sryan Bruen
The aurora borealis, taken from a flight from Denver to Paris. Source: Andrew Markowitz
The aurora borealis over the Golden Gate Bridge. Source: Jane Manchun Wong
The aurora borealis over Stonehenge. Source: Nick Bull
The aurora borealis over Glastonbury Tor (UK). Source: Michelle Cowbourne
The aurora borealis in the UK. Source: Chad Powel
The aurora borealis over a satellite observation station in Germany. Source: Simeon Schmauß
The aurora borealis in Colorado. Source: Rob Hoff
The aurora borealis in Ireland. Source: James Crombie
The aurora borealis in Joshua Tree National Park (California). Source: Bray Falls
The aurora borealis over the south pole. Source: Kevin Zagorski
The aurora borealis on the front line. Source: @reshetz
