Thanks to some unusual sunspot activity, the northern lights are putting on a show much farther south than usual, giving more people chances to catch a glimpse. From Norway to Scotland to Alaska, we look at some spectacular sights captured recently in the night skies.
Aurora borealis puts on a dazzling display in unusual places
Science
Mar 04, 2023 05:30 PM EDT
Transcript
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John Yang:
Finally tonight, we want to leave you with some spectacular sights from the night skies. Thanks to some unusual sunspot activity. The Northern Lights are putting on a show much farther south than usual. That's giving more people more chances to catch a glimpse.
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No Name Given:
Look at there, everywhere.
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John Yang:
They put on a dazzling display this week.
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No Name Given:
Oh my gosh.
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John Yang:
These time lapse is taken by amateur photographers of the aurora borealis are stunning.
From the deck of a cruise ship in Norway, to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, to the skies over Anchorage, Alaska. The dance and shimmer across the night sky originates on the sun in a solar storm. The colors and patterns come from ions and atoms being energized as they collide with the Earth's atmosphere and magnetic force. Different altitudes result in different colors below 60 miles violet and reds between 60- and 150-miles bright green, higher than that ruby reds.
In space, the colors were on display for astronaut Josh Cassada, who had one of the best seats in the House on board the International Space Station.
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