October 6-13 is an exciting week for the skywatching community, as the stunning aurora borealis is visible in many locations around the world. Also known as the Northern Lights, this phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the sun interact with the Earth's atmosphere and is typically only seen in the northernmost regions near the North Pole.
But over the past week, due to unusually high levels of activity from the sun leading to powerful solar storms affecting Earth, the aurora has been visible much further south than usual and many people have been able to capture stunning images.
Check out these stunning aurora moments captured and shared from various locations around the world this past week.
Aurora Borealis seen from Long Island (New York, USA).
And the aurora was also visible across much of the UK, with stunning images shared by the Met Office and the Royal Astronomical Society:
And of course, there's the view from space. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominic shared a photo of the aurora from the International Space Station.
There are many more images shared on space.com by skywatchers around the world. The aurora can be seen well with simple smartphone cameras, so many people are able to capture impressive images without any specialized astrophotography equipment.
The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity and is currently entering a period of maximum activity, known as solar maximum. This cycle is caused by sunspots, which are darker and cooler areas on the sun's surface created by the sun's magnetic field. When more of these sunspots are facing Earth, solar activity decreases. When there are fewer sunspots, as there are now, solar activity increases, leading to the possibility of explosive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
The past week has seen four powerful bursts of energy from the sun. The bursts of energy can disrupt satellites and communications technology as they reach Earth, in a phenomenon known as space weather.
But in addition to harming space-based technologies, increased solar activity also increases the number of auroras visible from Earth.
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