Solar Storm sparks this RARE aurora-like phenomena; just check out the images
The impact of solar storms can be severe on Earth! From radio blackouts, to hampering other forms of communication, satellite failure to knocking out power grids, solar storms are a scourge. However, that applies to the really powerful solar storms. Those that are weaker, generate some fascinating lights on Earth's poles called auroras. However, this time something strange, and rare, happened.
When a solar storm hits the Earth's magnetosphere it sparks a geomagnetic storm and that is what happened on August 8. It was a relatively weaker G-2 level geomagnetic storm. However, this was enough to birth a rare event. It led to the creation of a strange line of light above southern Canada. This rare phenomena is known as STEVE.
Also read: Geomagnetic storm just hit Earth and it has had a dazzling impact
The images of this rare phenomenon went viral on social media. A user named Alan Dyer shared pictures of the rare event on Twitter. He also wrote, "A great showing of @STEVEPhenomena last night, Aug 7-8, arcing across the sky, and showing his green fingers briefly for about 2 minutes. STEVE lasted about 40 minutes, appearing as the Kp5 aurora to the north subsided. This was 12:30 am MDT from southern Alberta.”
"STEVE", short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, usually occurs when the northern lights fade. It lasted around 40 minutes. Discovered back in 2016 by Canadian citizen scientists, STEVE is believed to be created by similar atmospheric disturbances that cause the aurora lights.
Explorersweb.com has this to say about STEVE, "Appearing as a giant ribbon of mauve light arcing across the night sky, it accompanied the vivid aurora visible in southern Canada and parts of the northern U.S. Although it looks and behaves
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