Parts of China bask in northern lights show – usually only seen in higher latitudes
- The display came far south enough to reach large areas of the country due to a series of solar geomagnetic storms
People in northern China had the chance to see something that is normally seen at even higher latitudes.
People in northern China had the chance to see something that is normally seen at even higher latitudes.
Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
The night skies above parts of northern China came alive with a rare northern lights display earlier this month. It was thanks to a series of solar geomagnetic storms – and more could be on the way.
The sky show started the night of May 10 and continued into the morning of May 12. It gave people a look at an atmospheric phenomenon that is usually seen at higher latitudes nearer to the north or south poles.
Sightings of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, were also reported in Gansu province, Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the capital Beijing. Some enthusiasts captured the display near the Great Wall.
The phenomenon was visible in many countries across the northern hemisphere. It was caused by powerful geomagnetic storms, which are disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field.
The storms were so strong that the China National Space Weather Monitoring and Early Warning Centre issued a red alert, the highest warning level, for geomagnetic storms.