Surprise! Earth Day Aurora Storm

Space Weather News for April 22, 2017 http://spaceweather.com https://www.facebook.com/spaceweatherdotcom EARTH DAY AURORA STORM: Last night, Northern Lights descended into the United States as far south as Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, kicking off an unexpected display of bright auroras for Earth Day. What happened?  A CME that was supposed to miss Earth apparently hit instead, surprising forecasters. Geomagnetic storms are still underway as April 22nd unfolds; high-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for midnight auroras on April 22-23. Visit  Spaceweather.com for updates. WEEKEND METEOR SHOWER: The auroras tonight may be spiced by an occasional flash of light.  Earth is entering a stream of debris from Comet Thatcher, source of the annual Lyrid meteor shower. Dark sky observers could see 10 to 20 shooting stars per hour shooting out of the constellation Lyra.  Sky maps and observing tips @ Spaceweather.com. Remember, SpaceWeather.com is on Facebook! Above: "Happy Earth Day!" says photographer Ruslan Merzlyakov, who sends this April 22nd picture from Mors island, Denmark.  More photos may be found in the realtime aurora gallery. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2017 Spaceweather.com, All rights reserved.