Sky Watchers Observe Aurora Borealis Glow on the Northern Horizon

By  //  November 7, 2021

image taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah

The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021. (NASA Image)

(NASA) – The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021.

Sky watchers in many locations were treated to unusually intense light displays, thanks to a geomagnetic storm created when multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) of charged particles from the Sun interacted with Earth’s magnetic field.

Of related note: the location from which this image was taken is just a few miles from the spot where capsules from the OSIRIS-REx and NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return missions are expected to land.