Images - Auroras Gallery

On October 28th and 29th 2003, the Sun released the most energy from a single active region ever recorded. Several huge ejections of mass from the Sun called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) started with velocities of more than 2000 km/s near the Sun and reached Earth after only 19 hours. This is the fastest arrival of a CME since 1972. When these CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field on October 29th and 30th, they caused the largest geomagnetic storm of this solar cycle. This geomagnetic activity resulted in a power outage in southern Sweden, a transformer heating at a nearby nuclear plant, and auroras around the globe. Many substorms occurred during these days and some of the aurora can be associated with the different phases of an auroral substorm. Below are images from people around the globe who photographed these images.


By Bernardi By Bush
Lionel Bernardi
Tromsø, Norway
Dan Bush
Albany, Missouri, USA
By Buttnor By Ganz
Sherry Buttnor
Metchosin, BC, Canada
Lonnie Ganz
39,000 ft above Ontario, Canada
By Hall By Hall
Calvin Hall
Eureka area NE of Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Calvin Hall
Eureka area NE of Anchorage, Alaska, USA
By Kreminski By LaBar
Ed Kreminski
Westerville, Ohio, USA
Rebekah and Caitlin LaBar
Ellensburg, Washington, USA
By Reyes By Slobins
Tim Reyes, Buchannon & Elkins
West Virginia, USA
Robert B. Slobins
LaOtto, Indiana, USA
By Slobins By Westlake
Robert B. Slobins, LaOtto
Indiana, USA
Jimmy Westlake
near Yampa, Colorado, USA