KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — On the night of Sunday, April 23, the sky and social media were swirling with photos of breathtaking auroras breaking through the sky's horizon.
Usually, these pictures come from those lucky enough to live somewhere where seeing them is easy, like Canada or Minnesota. But recent solar activity made them visible as far as Kentucky, Tennessee and even Oklahoma.
A geomagnetic storm on the sun caused a coronal mass ejection (CME), meaning the sun released energy in the form of electrically-charged winds that flow toward Earth. When these particles reach us, they go around the electromagnetic field of our planet to find the entry of least resistance — the poles. This is why the poles are where auroras are best seen.
Once the particles are in our atmosphere, they interact with the molecules already in the air, like oxygen and nitrogen, and create the gorgeous array of colors we're all so familiar with.
If you missed this opportunity, don't worry! While solar storms are usually this strong, they do happen somewhat cyclically, so just sit tight for the next one.
