aurora

Latest about aurora

The northern aurora lights up the sky over the Gulf of Finland.

Assyrian Tablets Contain Earliest Written Record of Aurora’s Sky Glow

By Mindy Weisberger last updated

Cuneiform tablets from ancient Assyria dating to 679 B.C. contain the earliest written record of an aurora.

Archaeology
Auroral images taken over New Zealand, showing a red auroral arc (left), the skyglow called STEVE (middle), and a partial arc with green picket fence structures (right).

Blood-red aurora transforms into 'STEVE' before stargazer's eyes

By Brandon Specktor published

New footage shows the mysterious auroral phenomenon called STEVE emerging from a blood-red arc of light in New Zealand in 2015.

Astronomy
This image shows the aurora borealis (northern lights) - a mix of green, purple, and blue lights - in the starry night sky above the snow-topped mountains in Alaska.

Do extraterrestrial auroras occur on other planets?

By Joanna Thompson published

Auroras don't just exist on Earth. Here's what we know about auroras on other planets in the solar system.

Planets
An artist's impression of the new sinuous discrete aurora over Mars.

Scientists discover bizarre 'worm-like' aurora stretching halfway across Mars

By Brandon Specktor published

Scientists detected an enormous new type of aurora stretching halfway across the Martian atmosphere.

Mars
The sun let off a double solar flare on Monday, April 25, 2022.

Sunspot sends off double flare, as solar activity ramps up

By Stephanie Pappas published

A restless sunspot sent off a double solar flare on Monday (April 25), temporarily disrupting some radio communications in Asia and Australia.

The Sun
The northern lights over Greenland. The oldest documented observation of an aurora may date to the early 10th century B.C.

Earliest documented aurora found in ancient Chinese text

By Laura Geggel published

The oldest documented observation of an aurora may be in an ancient Chinese text.

Human Behavior
The two massive sunspot groups, known as AR 2993 and AR 2994, became visible a few days ago at the northeast limb of the sun after becoming active while still hidden by the sun's disk.

New swarms of sunspots are so gigantic they could devour Earth whole

By Tom Metcalfe published

Two immense swarms of sunspots have popped into view on the surface of the sun, hinting at the increased possibilities of vivid auroras and potentially damaging solar flares over the months to come.

The Sun
The Subaru Telescope captured video of a mysterious, glowing swirl above Hawaii on April 17, 2022.

Shimmering 'night spiral' captured above Hawaii is actually a dying SpaceX rocket

By Elizabeth Howell published

The descent looked like a 'flying whirlpool' over Hawaii.

Space Exploration
Todd Salat captured auroras over Goðafoss waterfall in northern Iceland on April 14, 2022.

Stunning aurora glow above Iceland after 'dead' sunspot erupts

By Elizabeth Howell published

A sunspot that "awoke from the dead" last week triggered stunning aurora above Iceland.

The Sun
The brilliantly green northern lights on a dark night

Sudden eruption from 'dead' sunspot could bring auroras as far south as New York

By Elizabeth Howell published

After a dead sunspot hurled a ball of plasma toward Earth earlier this week, medium-sized auroras may stretch even farther south than usual.

The Sun
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