Photos: Rare solar storm brings dazzling northern lights across Europe

Storms came about after 5 coronal mass ejections burst from a large sunspot cluster

Last updated: May 11, 2024 | 11:48

Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor and With inputs from Bloomberg

2 MIN READ

1/16

This weekend, A severe solar storm brought a dazzling display of the Northern Lights that could be seen across Europe and as far south as Alabama in the US while threatening to trigger blackouts and disrupt navigation systems worldwide.

2/16

The US Space Weather Prediction Center said an extreme geomagnetic storm is underway as energy from the sun collides with Earth's magnetic field.

3/16

The last time a storm this strong struck Earth was in October 2003, according to the agency, which is part of the US National Weather Service.

4/16

That storm caused power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa.

5/16

The storms came about after five coronal mass ejections burst from a large sunspot cluster earlier this week.

6/16

In addition to the brilliant cosmic display, a G5 storm can disrupt electric grids and satellites, energize pipelines and cause havoc with global navigation systems.

7/16

The danger is that the storms can inject direct current into alternating current transmission lines and send low pulses of electricity through things like railroad tracks and pipelines. Some GPS signals may be lost during the event.

8/16

The storm's true power will be known when it is about 1.6 million kilometres from Earth, where satellites are parked to act as warning beacons.

9/16

The UK Met Office said earlier that if the skies are dark and clear enough overnight, large parts of Asia, Europe, and North America may be able to see an aurora, often called the Northern Lights.

10/16

While the aurora may be only visible with the naked eye as far south as Alabama and California, mobile phone cameras can often pick up displays further south that people cannot see.

11/16

The northern lights over the National Monument of Scotland. In addition, trans-polar flights between Europe, Asia and North America will likely be rerouted to avoid increased radiation exposure for passengers and crews.

12/16

Aurora borealis over a windmill field near London, Ontario. The culprit is a sunspot cluster 16 times wider than Earth, visible on the right side of the sun's disc.

13/16

The sun, which rolls through an 11-year cycle in which the number of spots waxes and wanes, is approaching the peak of the current one that began in December 2019.

14/16

The effects of the solar storm may last through the weekend into next week.

15/16

Northern lights illuminate the night sky over Vienna during a geomagnetic storm.

16/16

The aurora borealis are seen over The Roaches near Leek, Staffordshire, Britain.

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox