A satellite photo captured by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) onboard the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite showcased an aurora over western Canada at 3:23 a.m. Mountain Time on November 5, 2023.
The night sky was adorned with vibrant auroral displays following solar storms that propelled charged particles into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
In the early days of November 2023, observers in North America and Europe shared images on social platforms showcasing the spectacular northern lights, also known as aurora borealis. These light displays, induced by a significant geomagnetic storm, illuminated the night sky with colorful streaks.
Observations via Satellite
The aurora over western Canada was captured by the VIIRS sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite at 3:23 a.m. Mountain Time (10:23 Universal Time) on November 5, 2023. Near Edmonton, Canada, the aurora’s brightness was so intense that it nearly overwhelmed the satellite’s sensor. The phenomenon persisted into the following evening, with Glasgow, Montana, witnessing pink and green lights. The auroras were particularly vibrant near the U.S.-Canada border and in Alaska, and were even faintly visible in Texas.
How Auroras Form
Auroras are typically formed when the Sun releases a stream of charged particles through solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or an active solar wind towards Earth. These particles interact with and compress the magnetosphere, altering Earth’s magnetic field. Some of these trapped particles are thrust into the upper atmosphere, where they excite nitrogen and oxygen molecules, resulting in the emission of light photons known as auroras.
Details of the November Aurora
The auroras on November 5–6, 2023, were caused by several coronal mass ejections, which are substantial releases of magnetized plasma from the Sun’s corona, as reported by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. These plasma bursts and solar waves collided with Earth’s upper atmosphere, triggering a powerful geomagnetic storm.
A notable instance of an aurora was observed from the International Space Station, hovering 260 miles above Utah during the orbital nighttime. This image is credited to NASA.
Previous Space Observations
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured a photo of another aurora from 260 miles (418 kilometers) above Utah on October 28, 2023. This aurora likely resulted from a coronal hole facing Earth, as explained by the Space Weather Prediction Center. Coronal holes are cooler areas in the solar atmosphere with open connections to interplanetary space, from which high-speed streams of material are emitted.
Participating in Aurora Citizen Science
Aurora enthusiasts can engage in aurora citizen science through a project named Aurorasaurus. This initiative compiles aurora reports from its website and social media, creating a real-time global aurora map. Verified reports from citizen scientists provide valuable data for scientific analysis and integration into space weather models. Aurorasaurus is a collaborative effort between the New Mexico Consortium, the National Science Foundation, and NASA.
NASA Earth Observatory’s Lauren Dauphin and Wanmei Liang processed the satellite image using VIIRS day-night band data. The astronaut photograph, taken by a member of Expedition 70 with a Nikon D5 camera and a 24 millimeter lens, was acquired on October 28, 2023. The ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at Johnson Space Center provided this photograph, which has been edited for clarity and lens artifact removal. The ISS National Lab supports the laboratory’s role in enabling astronauts to capture valuable Earth images, which are made publicly accessible online. More astronaut and cosmonaut images are available at NASA/JSC’s Gateway to Astronaut Photography of
