Categories: Aurora

Incredible Aurora Outburst From Recent X-Class Flare

A gorgeous image of the Aurora Borealis seen near Donegal, Ireland on Feb. 27, 2014. Credit and copyright: Rita Wilson Photography.

Our Twitter feeds just exploded with pictures of an auroral outburst in the UK, Scandinavia, Iceland and even from the International Space Station! Thanks to the X4.9 class solar flare on on Feb. 25, the resulting CME hit Earth’s magnetic field today and triggered geomagnetic storms. Take a look at some of the images pouring in, featuring dancing curtains of reds, greens, purples and pinks:

‘This is how a CME impact looks like,” tweeted Göran Strand from Östersund, Sweden. “Lot’s of aurora tonight.”

The aurora seen over Scotland on Feb. 27, 2014. Credit and copyright: Euan McIntosh.

Southern lights were absolutely stunning tonight! pic.twitter.com/y20Rkkc2uv

— Mike Hopkins (@AstroIllini) February 27, 2014

Red curtains of aurora. ‘I’m amazed, blown away, never seen aurora before EVER,’ said astrophotographer Wendy Clark. ‘Just incredible, stood for ages watching it develop.’

This view of the aurora from Chobham, Surrey in the UK on Feb. 27, 2014. Credit and copyright: Tom Chitson.

This timelapse shows the aurora display over Swordale, Isle of Lewis, Scotland on Feb. 27, 2014:

Here are a few notable tweets:

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Wow aurora from your bedroom window in North Wales #bucketlist pic.twitter.com/H1MXZ90VqZ

— Pete Wood (@PeteWood1981) February 27, 2014

I cried tonight… #aurora #orkney @VirtualAstro #merriedancers pic.twitter.com/VJDkOF75ck

— Alison Moore (@AlisonMooreDesi) February 27, 2014

Lost for words. An hour and a half spent looking up at the most incredible aurora display I have ever seen.

— Nick Bramhall (@nickbramhll) February 27, 2014

“@Jordan_Crosby: Got treated to an awesome display of #AuroraBorealis tonight in Seaham." @VirtualAstro pic.twitter.com/gML6Bj5LDO

— Jordan Crosby (@Jordan_Crosby) February 27, 2014

Here are more images that came in overnight:

An aurora rising from the east above the Science Operations Center at Poker Flat. Aurora seen in Alaska on Feb. 28, 2014. The bubble in the lower right is a dome housing a scientific camera which happens to be in just the right spot to appear as if it’s blowing the aurora out. Credit and copyright: Jason Arhns.

Northern lights from Carmyllie, Angus, Scotland on Feb. 27/28, 2014. Credit and copyright: Mick Walton.

Aurora reflects on water, as seen on February 20, 2014 near Bremnes, Troms Fylke, Norway. Credit and copyright: Ronny Årbekk.

To see more images, take a look at the Twitter feed of @VirtualAstro, or see the aurora gallery at SpaceWeather.com.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/