A double-burst of solar particles sparked auroral lights over the weekend, as expected — but at least in some parts of the world, the colors were not what you'd expect. Instead of the typical greenish glow, observers reported seeing reds, violets and even blues.
"It's been many years since I saw the blue in our auroras, but Saturday night they came back," John Welling reported in a note accompanying the
photo he posted to SpaceWeather.com.
Pinks, reds and blues also dominated the scene captured on camera early Sunday by Brad Goldpaint, from a vantage point above Oregon's Crater Lake. In an email, Goldpaint told me the opportunity came about "by pure coincidence."
