The Southern Lights

The Northern Lights traveled South!

In possibly a once in a lifetime event, the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights) were visible throughout the southeast on Friday night, May 11. An unusually large coronal mass ejection from a sunspot some 15 times the width of the Earth sent a huge stream of particles our way resulting in, well, The Southern Lights. Here are a few photos from one of our members.

^{Images Credit: Dr. William Rankin}

This once in a lifetime event returned on Thursday, October 10. The Auroras might not have been as spectacular to the naked eye as those in May, but some of our members were able to capture some nice images, including one of the Perseus Double Cluster with a red background.

^{Images Credits: Joe Haberthier, Bill Rankin, Garrett Bush, and Bruce Gavett}

The Northern Light occur when charged particles from the Sun interact with molecules the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of these particles are pushed to the poles by the Earth’s magnetic field, and, as such, are usually only visible way up north.