#Aurora: Northern and southern lights visible far and wide thanks to solar ejection

#Aurora: Northern and southern lights visible far and wide thanks to solar ejection

CBC News | Posted: June 23, 2015 1:12 PM | Last Updated: June 23, 2015

Coronal mass ejection made lights visible farther away from Earth's poles than usual

Photos of the aurora borealis — and aurora australis, as it's known in the southern hemisphere — were trending on Twitter overnight as Earth's atmosphere showed the effects of a solar storm.

A coronal mass ejection occurred Sunday, sending a stream of charged particles from the sun to the Earth and making northern and southern lights visible farther away from the poles than usual.

While cloud cover obscured the aurora for many people, that wasn't an issue for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

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Canadians living in regions with clear skies were treated to a light show as the solar particles interacted with the Earth's magnetic field.

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Sightings of the northern lights are rarer in the U.S. and the U.K., so photos that captured the light show in those countries are particularly special.

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The coronal ejection was massive enough that the aurora australis, or southern lights, was visible in Australia, as well.

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