October Aurora

October 04, 2001

011001_9

Provided by: Dominic Cantin
Summary authors & editors: Dominic Cantin; Martin Ruzek; SpaceWeather.com

A pair of solar wind disturbances buffeted Earth's magnetosphere during the weekend and triggered a geomagnetic storm. On Sunday, Sept. 30th, and Monday, Oct. 1st, high-latitude sky watchers spotted some of the most beautiful Northern Lights of the young aurora season. Intrepid night sky photographer Dominic Cantin captured this brilliant display north of Quebec City despite the nearly full moon. Forecasters say there is also a chance for more auroras during the nights ahead. The best time to look is around local midnight. A solar proton storm was underway earlier this week following an M9-class eruption on the Sun. The blast also hurled a bright lopsided coronal mass ejection into space and, perhaps, a solar wind disturbance toward Earth.

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