Last Night's View: Skies Filled with Stunning Aurora

By Nancy Atkinson - October 09, 2012 05:03 PM UTC | Planetary Science

The Aurora Borealis fills nearly the entire sky in Cleary Summit, Alaska. Credit: Jason Ahrns on Flickr.

With just a glancing blow from a coronal mass ejection (CME) this week, skywatchers in the northern latitudes have been enjoying some beautiful views of the Aurora Borealis. Here are a few stunning views from last night (October 8-9, 2012), including this jaw-dropping aurora that filled the entire sky for Jason Ahrns in Cleary Summit, Alaska. "This lens has a near-180 degree field of view from corner to corner - this swirl covered the entire sky, and put off enough light to read the focus indicator on my lens," Jason wrote on

Flickr.

See more below:

This view is from Kilmany, Scotland. "You could see the rays moving left - so stunning," said photographer

Corinne Mills

.

This view came from the AuroraMAX camera in Yellowknife, NWT taken at 00:53 MDT on October 9, 2012. Credit:

"I've been tracking aurora activity all day and it peaked again tonight," writes photographer

Gareth Paxton on Flickr

. "There was a substantial glow in the sky - this was taken from Linlithgow (Scotland)."

Northern lights over Ottawa, Canada. Credit: F

ailedProtostar on Flickr.

Stunning view from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Credit:

Another beauty by Jason Arhns in Alaska, which he calls a "ghost flame." Credit:

Green aurora over Ulverston, Cumbria, UK. Credit:

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com