St. Patrick’s Aurora Illuminates the Night Sky

This majestic image of the dazzling green lights of the aurora borealis was captured on March 17, 2015, around 5:30 a.m. EDT in Donnelly Creek, Alaska.

The aurora borealis and aurora australis, often called the northern lights and southern lights, are common occurrences at high northern and southern latitudes, less frequent at mid-latitudes, and seldom seen near the equator.

These colorful ribbons of light are the visible manifestation of the solar wind – the flow of charged particles from the Sun – interacting with the Earth’s magnetosphere. Strong geomagnetic storms stimulate our atmosphere and light up the night sky, creating auroras.

See how you can help track auroras around the world with the Aurorasaurus project.

Image Credit: Sebastian Saarloos

First published at NASA.gov