SOLAR WIND SPARKS NORTHERN LIGHTS: A high-speed stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, sparking bright lights around both poles. "This evening the auroras appeared everywhere," reports Anne Birgitte Fyhn, who photographed the display from a pond on Kvaløya island, Tromsø, Norway:
"They were amazing," she says. "I ran around the pond a couple of times taking pictures from different spots. Finally, I decided to just sit down, look up, and enjoy the show."
High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras on Oct. 21-22. NOAA forecasters estmate a 45% chance of geomagnetic storms as the solar wind continues to blow.
