CME IMPACT SPARKS EUROPEAN AURORA STORM: Arriving earlier than expected, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 25th (0852 UT). The impact sparked 15 hours of geomagnetic storming--mostly G1 (Minor), but with an interval of G2 (Moderate). Another CME might arrive today, Nov. 26th, delivering a glancing blow that could re-energize the storm. CME alerts: SMS Text
At the apex of the Nov. 25th storm, auroras were observed across much of Europe, visible to the naked eye despite nearly full moonlight. "I was lucky to catch probably the most active hour of this G2 aurora, with colorful rays extending high overhead," reports Graeme Whipps, who sends this picture from Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (+57N):
Note that Whipps' photo includes a vertical band of rare orange auroras. "What an incredible sight!" he says.
Usually, when auroras visit Europe, they stop in places like Scotland, going no farther south. On Nov. 25th, however, they descended all the way to Italy. "I photographed faint red auroras in the northern sky from Sumirago (+45N)," says Italian photographer Paolo Bardelli:
"This was during the peak of the G2 activity," he says. "Because of the full Moon and glare from street lights, I could not see the auroras with my naked eye, but my camera was able to record their red glow."
Even farther south, Jure Atanackov photographed red auroras from Ljubljana, Slovenia. "These were our fourth aurora this month here at +41N geomagnetic latitude!" he says.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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