Sept. 3, 2019: It happened just as predicted. On August 31st, a stream of solar wind hit Earth’s magnetic field, sparking the strongest geomagnetic storm of 2019. Episodes of G2-class storming ignited bright auroras over both poles visible even in Arctic twilight. Dmitry Rak photographed the display from  the Barents Sea coast near Teriberka, Russia:

“The aurora borealis mixed with the colors of sunset and dawn as the storm lasted the whole night of Aug. 31st to Sept. 1st,” reports Rak. “The most delicious auroras floated over us and headed south, so we were able to capture only part of this celestial extravaganza. Nevertheless, we were very satisfied with what we saw.”

Thousands of miles away in Wyoming, the sky and the ground both exploded:

“I got several images of the auroras over the geysers in Yellowstone National Park,” says photographer Jean Clark. “What a great night!”

At the peak of the storm, which lasted throughout the Labor Day weekend, auroras spilled across the Canadian border into multiple US states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Maine and even Midwestern airspace.

Did you miss the show? The same stream of solar wind will return on Sept. 27th when the sun has spun once on its axis, directing the gaseous firehose at Earth again. Mark your calendar! Aurora alerts: SMS Text

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