Fluttering because the aurora translates to the south

Unusual high brightness aurora bands appear in areas far from the Arctic to the south on the evening of October 24 due to a magnetic storm.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, although the intensity of the magnetic storm has decreased, bright aurora bands will continue to appear in the sky in the next few nights. Very bright aurora also occurs in countries farther south like Estonia and Latvia.

Aurora in southern Finland on October 24 evening. (Photo: Vesa Vauhkonen)

The Finnish Meteorological Institute announced that solar eruptions will continue in the next few days so astronomers in northern Finland will also have the opportunity to see the aurora.

Scientists explain that an intense eruption on the sun's upper atmosphere causes aurora on the night of October 24.

In the United States meteorologists are surprised to see the aurora glowing in southern states like Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia on the evening of October 24. So far, aurora has only appeared in the northern states. Data that an automatic camera of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) recorded showed that red and green light bands appeared continuously for 20 minutes above the city of Huntsville, Alaska.

"This is a rare phenomenon. We don't often see the aurora moving so far south," comments Bill Cooke, a NASA scientist.

Illuminated strips of light in the state of Arkansas, USA on the night of October 24. (Photo: AP)

Experts from the US Space Weather Center - which tracks storms from the country - were also surprised when the storm moved quite far to the south. Bob Rutledge, director of the center, said he did not think people in a southern state like Iowa could see aurora.

'The storm from the extreme caused only that intensity on that day' , he said.

The aurora occurs because particles that charge from the sun rush into the Earth's atmosphere at tremendous speed. During migration, charged particles crash into oxygen and nitrogen atoms, causing their energy levels to increase. As a result, oxygen and oxygen atoms emit colorful light. It is called the northern polar aurora at the north and the aurora at the south pole is aurora.