Late Monday into the early morning hours of Tuesday, the Perseid meteor shower peaked across the Northern Hemisphere, delighting skywatchers with a dazzling light show that we won’t see again until 2025.
The Perseid meteor shower, commonly known as Perseid meteor showerThis event is considered one of the brightest and most abundant meteor showers of the year. During the event, approximately 50 to 100 meteors are visible per hour, leaving behind long waves of light and color.
Because of this colorful and abundant display, the Perseids are the highlight of many meteor hunters’ calendars.
But for some lucky stargazers, the Perseids were accompanied by another spectacular cosmic display: the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
In a rare event, the Perseid meteor shower coincided with geomagnetic stormThis has led to conditions that have made the aurora visible to some very lucky skywatchers in places like Minnesota, New York and Nevada.
While the geomagnetic activity was high expected According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the northern lights that appeared were unexpectedBecause space weather can be unpredictable, aurora borealis only occurs under the right conditions.
According to NASA, solar activity has been unusually active in recent months due to the sun’s entry into Earth’s atmosphere. maximum solar powera peak in the sun’s 11-year cycle that will cause sunspots to intensify and geomagnetic storms to increase. The peak will begin in late 2024 and end in early 2026, when the sun enters solar minimum, a period of minimal solar activity.
If you’re not lucky enough to witness the celestial light show, here are some photos of this rare event captured around the world.