Auroras capture sky in Europa and North America

Extraordinary bright auroras have been seen in the sky this week.

Spectacular northern lights could have been observed throughout northern Europe and North America.

The aurora is triggered by interactions between our planet's magnetic field and charged particles sent towards us by explosions in the sun's atmosphere.

On Sunday, during the summer solstice, a huge blast on the sun sent coronal mass ejections in our direction, which reached Earth on Monday afternoon.

The geomagnetic storm, that also generated the lights, was classified G4, the second-highest possible degree. The last on such a scale happened in March, when auroras were seen as far south as New Mexico.

The best way to try and catch a glimpse of the impressive light show is to go to locations with minimum light pollution, and the more northerly, the better.

The event was even more dazzling from space, with Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeting the red aurora he saw from the ISS.

The current geomagnetic storm could go on throughout Tuesday.

Also read: Northern Lights more intense because of strong solar storm

Pravda.Ru