Current:Home > FinanceTimelapse video shows northern lights glittering from the top of New Hampshire mountain -ProfitZone
Timelapse video shows northern lights glittering from the top of New Hampshire mountain
View
Date:2025-04-27 12:46:13
Skies over the U.S. were once again treated to views of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights
The Mount Washington Observatory of New Hampshire captured a timelapse of the phenomena in the wee hours of Monday morning, catching the greenish-blue colors that blanketed the state's sky.
"Time-lapse of the aurora as seen from the summit earlier this morning," reads a post shared by the observatory. "The lights on the right side correspond to Berlin, N.H. and the lights on the left side correspond to Lancaster, N.H. The center of the video corresponds to roughly due north."
Auroras of different colors appeared over other states, as well, with some images from Ithaca in upstate New York showcasing a more pinkish-orange pallet.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted late last week that coronal mass ejections – clouds of plasma and charged particles – making their way toward Earth would drive a geomagnetic storm that could make the auroras visible from northern and upper Midwest states, from New York to Idaho.
NOAA had been tracking three coronal mass ejections last week, two that erupted from the sun on Wednesday and one Thursday from a solar flare. All were expected to arrive over the weekend, according to NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center's forecast discussion, coinciding with the Perseid meteor shower.
The NOAA forecast model has predicted that the lights could again be viewable in multiple states on Monday night.
What are the northern lights?
The northern lights are a luminous glow seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Known for creating ribbons of colorful light in the night sky, the aurora borealis are polar lights, or aurora polaris, that appear in the northern hemisphere.
The southern hemisphere has its own polar lights known as the southern lights, or aurora australis, which create their own dazzling display.
Put simply, auroras are a result of the sun interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere. A collision between electrically charged particles from the sun and gases in Earth’s atmosphere produces a series of minuscule flashes that appear like moving lights in the sky.
The charged particles are pulled toward the North and South poles due to Earth’s magnetic field.
While that magnetic field usually protects the earth from solar winds, the winds can occasionally get strong enough to bypass the field, allowing particles and gases in the magnetosphere to interact and generate the colorful displays, according to the Geophysical Institute and the Canadian Space Agency.
Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY
veryGood! (58323)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' star Eduardo Xol dies at 58 after apparent stabbing
- Kane Brown's Most Adorable Dad Moments Are Guaranteed to Make Your Heart Sing
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to help Black families reclaim taken land
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- New York City Mayor Eric Adams vows to fight charges in criminal indictment
- Derrick Rose, a No. 1 overall pick in 2008 and the 2011 NBA MVP, announces retirement
- Man who set off explosion at California courthouse had a criminal case there
- Sam Taylor
- Tommy Kramer, former Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl QB, announces dementia diagnosis
Ranking
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Concerns linger after gunfire damages Arizona Democratic campaign office
- Man charged with killing 13-year-old Detroit girl whose body remains missing
- US lawmakers’ concerns about mail ballots are fueled by other issues with mail service
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Zelenskyy is visiting the White House as a partisan divide grows over Ukraine war
- US Open Cup final: How to watch Los Angeles FC vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Georgia court rejects counting presidential votes for Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz
Recommendation
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Police in small Mississippi city discriminate against Black residents, Justice Department finds
Coach named nearly 400 times in women's soccer abuse report no longer in SafeSport database
How New York City Is Getting Screwed Out of $4.2 Billion in State Green Bonds
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Nikki Garcia's Ex Artem Chigvintsev Shares His Priority After Extremely Difficult Legal Battle
Police in small Mississippi city discriminate against Black residents, Justice Department finds
Stellantis recalls over 15,000 Fiat vehicles in the US, NHTSA says