Aurora borealis in May largest in 500 years, seen across half planet

Aurora Borealis (photo: Getty Images)

In May, the most powerful aurora borealis was observed over North America and Europe. Residents of some regions of Ukraine were lucky enough to see the incredible spectacle. Scientists claim that this aurora was the largest in the last 500 years.

RBC-Ukraine reports regarding the Independent what scientists said about the aurora in May.

Charged particles coming from the Sun interact with gases in the Earth's atmosphere to create colors ranging from green to pink and red.

"With reports of auroras visible to as low as 26 degrees magnetic latitude, this recent storm may compete with some of the lowest latitude aurora sightings on record over the past five centuries," NASA says.

The most spectacular auroras appear when the sun releases large clouds of particles called coronal mass ejections or CMEs.

Normally, auroras can only be seen at high latitudes, such as in Canada, Scandinavia, and sometimes in the north of the UK. But on May 10, a powerful geomagnetic storm caused by the sun produced dazzling lights south of the equator, as far away as Ladakh in South Asia. It was the strongest solar storm to hit the planet since 2003.

NASA recorded more than 80 visible solar flares that originated from two active regions on the Sun.

Some of these flares have produced stunning auroras, caused temporary blackouts, disabled satellites, and caused flights to be diverted in the northern hemisphere.

"The CMEs all arrived largely at once, and the conditions were just right to create a really historic storm," says NASA physicist Elizabeth MacDonald.

The data obtained during this month's solar events can help astronomers for years to come.

The aurora borealis in May (photo from the X network)

The aurora borealis in May (photo from the X network)

The aurora borealis in May (photo from the X network)

The aurora borealis in May (photo from the X network)

Earlier, we wrote that scientists explained why the aurora borealis comes in different colors.