Spectacular 'Aurora' Scenes in Florida, USA... Stunning Views Across Regions Due to Powerful Solar Storm

Recently, a series of powerful solar eruptions on the surface of the sun have resulted in the strongest solar storm in 21 years reaching Earth. As a result, auroras displaying purple, green, yellow, and pink hues appeared across various parts of the globe.

According to Yonhap News Agency, citing AP News and others, auroras were observed worldwide on the 11th (local time) in countries including Germany, Switzerland, China, the United Kingdom, Spain, and New Zealand. In the United States, spectacular scenes unfolded across the country, including southern Florida, California, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Aurora observed in New Zealand on the 11th (local time)
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap]

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Auroras refer to the photonic phenomenon where charged particles (solar wind) emitted from the sun approach Earth, with some gathering near the North and South Poles and interacting with the upper atmosphere’s magnetic field, producing light.

Although concerns about large-scale blackouts arose, no serious damage has been reported. However, minor disruptions to power grids and communications appear to have occurred.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that geomagnetic storms continued through the day, with preliminary reports of degraded high-frequency communications, GPS system performance, and power grid instability.

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by U.S. space company SpaceX, announced on its website that service performance had declined that morning and that an investigation was underway. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and leader of SpaceX, also posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account that the satellites were "under a lot of pressure but have so far held up."

Aurora observed in Argentina on the 10th (local time)
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap]

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The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated, "No serious damage reports related to the solar storm have been received so far," and the Department of Energy also said, "We have not recognized any impact of the storm on electricity users."

Earlier, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center upgraded the solar storm’s classification from level 4 to the strongest level 5 on the 10th. It is the first time since October 2003 that a G5-class geomagnetic storm has struck Earth. At that time, the geomagnetic storm caused blackouts in Sweden and transformer damage in South Africa.

Aurora that occurred on the 11th in California, USA
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap]

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When solar coronal material reaches Earth, it generally affects Earth’s magnetic field, causing radio interference and satellite operation disruptions. The Carrington Event in September 1859, considered the largest geomagnetic storm in history, caused telegraph networks in North America and Europe to fail and fires to break out, resulting in significant damage.

This storm lasted nearly a week, during which auroras were visible even in tropical regions such as Hawaii and Central America. Such powerful eruptions occur because the sun is approaching the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle. NOAA told The New York Times that solar activity during this cycle has been stronger than initially expected.

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