The auroras are a beautiful thing to witness. Last night's solar storm resulted in a flurry of pictures being sent in from across the globe of the awesome aurora displays.
And it wasn't just the northern lights, a similar display was seen over New Zealand. Check it out below!
But have you ever stopped and thought about what this phenomenon is called when it happen in the southern hemisphere in places like New Zealand and Australia?
Photo: Minoru Yoneto - Queenstown, New Zealand
The answer: Aurora Australis
It's my random nugget of science trivia for you today. And the auroras weren't just seen to the south last night, there were several photos posted in North America too.
Here is one of my favorite ones that was posted overnight on spaceweather.com. It's from the Yukon Territory in town east of the Alaskan border.
Taken by Jonathan Tucker in Whitehorse, Yukon
And finally, I have to throw in something closer to home. This was an impressive solar storm and it produced northern lights in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. It would have been visible in more locations in the United States but large cloud decks blocked the view.
The northern lights captured in Hartford, WI by Jake Stehli (spaceweather.com)
