It was a uncommon cosmic collision — and the sky responded in technicolor.
A uncommon and rowdy “cannibal” photo voltaic eruption slammed into Earth this week, which painted the sky in jaw-dropping shade from Scotland to the South Pole.
The freaky phenomenon, generally known as a cannibal coronal mass ejection (CME), occurred after two photo voltaic eruptions determined to merge mid-flight, forming one huge, magnetic monster that socked Earth’s environment on April 15.
The consequence? A worldwide rave within the sky.
Specialists at NOAA’s Area Climate Prediction Heart had warned of a G3-level storm for April 16 — however Mom Nature cranked it as much as G4 briefly, sending charged particles straight into the historical past books and triggering wild aurora sightings removed from the poles.
In Finland, aurora photographer Austin MacDonald was left speechless.
“I used to be amazed and nearly overwhelmed. Residing in Finland, I see auroras fairly typically, from small G1 storms to final 12 months’s excessive G5 storm. However final evening was one thing particular,” MacDonald instructed Area.com.
“It got here on so quick, and it wasn’t simply overhead, it was to the south, north, east, west… It felt like I used to be standing inside a 360-degree aurora sphere. It simply made me really feel extremely small,” he stated of the sunshine present, which peaked round 11:45 p.m. native time.
MacDonald — who used to work in meteorology, in contrast the spectacle to hitting the atmospheric jackpot.
“In some ways, this felt like witnessing the atmospheric equal of an ideal storm… You may’t assist however really feel extremely fortunate to have been there for it,” he instructed the positioning.
Photographers across the globe snapped comparable otherworldly sights.
In Eire, Sryan Bruen caught the northern lights flickering above Ballynafagh Church in County Kildare.
Over within the UK, astrophotographer Astro Ben posted on X a timelapse of the aurora pirouetting above his yard.
Additional north in Scotland, Cat Perkinton marveled on the “loopy vary of colors in final evening’s skies over #Stirling.”
In Germany, the celestial striptease made it right down to 49 levels latitude.
And it wasn’t simply the Northern Hemisphere getting lit.
Within the Southern Hemisphere, an X person shared a blinding shot of the aurora australis, writing, “Aurora Australis 17/04/2025 84 % full moon on the zenith and the Woman lastly determined to carry out the showgirl… In true type she outshone the moon and gave us all what we have been there for—bare eye beams and color have been an thrilling finale.”
Whereas the storm is winding down, NOAA says high-latitude auroras are nonetheless attainable because the Kp index lingers close to 4.33 over the following 24 hours.
