This fantastic image of the Northern Lights was captured by NASA astronaut Terry Virts aboard the ISS. (Photo : Terry Virts/Vine)
Last Tuesday night, Earth's skies were aglow with mesmerizing emerald green auroras that are caused by a massive solar storm which powered these light shows for St. Patrick's Day. Amateur skywatchers and observers already documented this stunning event with photos of the auroras in the northern U.S., Canada and northern Europe.
These amazing aurora images were captured during a powerful geomagnetic storm that swept the planet beginning March 17, Tuesday that lasted until yesterday. Scientists who are operating the Slooh Community Observatory were able to broadcast their view of the northern lights online from Iceland when they were about to get ready for the total solar eclipse happening on Friday, March 20.
Slooh astronomer Paul Cox said during the aurora webcast, the skies have gotten slightly darker and then the team started to observe some wonderful colors and it was also the first instance for me to see an aurora of this geomagnetic storm this massive.
Auroras or the Northern Lights occur when highly charged particles from the sun have an interaction with the planet's upper atmosphere that emits a glow that typicaly looks green but can also include reddish hues and even purples as well.
They are also only visible over the area of the North and South poles of the Earth however, a solar storm this magnitude, a G4 class on Tuesday, can generate auroras brighter than the usual, extending to the lower regions of the poles.
On the International Space Station, astronauts also witnessed these incredible light displays of St. Patrick's Day geomagnetic storm. NASA astronaut Terry Virts captured the green auroras on camera as the space laboratory orbited the planet.
Virts posted on Twitter, this is nature's way of celebrating #StPatricksDay which is also the most amazing green I've ever seen, courtesy of a solar flare.
The auroras were particulary brilliant Tuesday night due to the Earth's magnetic field being assaulted by charged particles from the G4 storm. Earth's neutral particles found in the upper atmosphere became excited by the solar flare, creating these stunning aurora displays seen all over the world.
