WOW! Wyoming Witnessed An Amazing Aurora Sunday Night
This past Sunday night into Monday morning was yet another chance to see something that is usually reserved for Canada, Alaska, and Siberia.
Did you miss this storm?
Don't worry, more is coming.
This time the Northern Lights could be seen Sunday evening into the early hours of Monday for a very large part of the United States.
Some folks as far south as Alabama witnessed it.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered a level four out of five on the geomagnetic storm impact scale as nightfall approached on Sunday.
Our Sun is going through another active stage.
Solar storms are spewing radiation into our solar system.
That, in part, is why the drought is coming to an end in the Western U.S.A. That's the La Nina and El Nino effects. But that's another story.
Another effect we see during this active Sun time is those amazing northern lights.
A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), which the NOAA describes as a "billion tons of plasma ejected from the sun," erupted toward the Earth on Friday.
"When a CME arrives at Earth, it can produce some of the biggest geomagnetic storms and thus, some of the brightest and most active auroras that extend furthest toward the equator," the NOAA explains.
This was a particularly strong burst from our sun.
Imagine Alabama and southern California being able to see auroral displays.
The best time to view was 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. local time, according to the NOAA.
Viewers would have to get away from city lights, which is easy to do in Wyoming.
Lights from a town can block out the view, even if the aurora is right above their heads.
Did you miss this storm? Don't worry, more is coming.