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Videos show giant solar flares, ensuing aurora borealis

The largest solar radiation storm since 2005 is causing stunning auroras throughout the North and South Poles.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
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Still taken from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory showing a long duration flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

People who wouldn't normally see auroras are being treated to stunning sights today thanks to the largest solar radiation storm since 2005.

The storm is creating colorful auroras throughout the North and South Poles that stretched to countries that don't normally see the lights, such as England. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has maps on its Web site of the likelihood of seeing a nearby aurora.

This video by Helge Mortensen shows the aurora borealis at Tromvik Norway:

This video by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a long duration flare erupting on the Sun and sending a coronal mass ejection towards Earth:

This video also by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows superheated plasma creating dramatic loop structures earlier this week. According to Universe Today, just one of these loops is the size of several Earths:

If these videos aren't enough, photos from an aurora Web cam can be seen at Aurora Sky Station.