Sun stirs up geomagnetic storm and brilliant aurora on earth

The earth has been hit with a couple of large coronal mass ejections (i.e. solar flares) from the sun in the past couple of days and this is creating some spectacular auroral displays.

From Spaceweather.com:

As predicted, a pair of CMEs hit Earth’s magnetic field in quick succession on Sept. 11th and 12th. The result was a G3-class geomagnetic storm, the most intense of the year so far. At the peak of the storm on Sept 12-13, bright auroras ringed the Arctic Circle and spilled down over several northern-tier US states.

Here’s a great shot by Harald Albrigtsen:

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And here is a photo from ” John Stetson [taken] on September 12, 2014 @ Quaker Ridge, Casco, Maine facing north towards the Presidential Range in [New Hampshire]”:

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