Red Aurora over Poland
			
		
		
			Image Credit & Copyright:  
Mariusz Durlej
		
		
			Northern lights don't usually reach this far south. 
Magnetic chaos in the Sun's 
huge Active Region 3664, however, produced a surface explosion that sent a 
burst of 
electrons, protons, and more massive, charged nuclei into the 
Solar System.
A few days later, that 
coronal mass ejection (CME) impacted the Earth and 
triggered auroras that are being reported 
unusually far from our planet's 
north and south poles. 
The free sky show 
might not be over -- 
the sunspot rich AR3664 has ejected even more 
CMEs that might also impact the 
Earth tonight or tomorrow.
That active region is now 
near the Sun's edge, though, 
and will soon be rotating away from the 
Earth. 
Pictured, a 
red and 
rayed aurora 
was captured in a single 6-second exposure from 
Racibórz, 
Poland 
early last night. 
The photographer's friend, seeing an aurora for the first time, is visible in the 
distance also taking images of the 
beautifully colorful 
nighttime sky.