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Why Are We Seeing These Crazy Northern Lights?
The aurora borealis is usually seen near the Arctic, but solar winds and magnetic turbulence are sparking some of the best light shows in centuries throughout the US.
The aurora borealis is usually visible only way up north, but two weeks ago the night sky was filled with shimmering curtains of pink and green light that could be seen all the way down into the southern US. This is what occurs at the peak of the solar cycle: Erupting magnetic fields pull those free electrons and protons out of the corona and fling them into space at speeds up to 1.5 million miles per hour. These gases are excited by a combination of high-energy charges from the sun and the Earth's own fluctuating magnetic field, which give these particles an extra boost, creating more energetic collisions.
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