Tourists normally have to pay big bucks and brave cold climates for a chance to see an aurora, but last weekend many people around the world simply had to look up to see these colorful displays dancing across the sky.
Usually banished to Earth’s poles, the auroras on the evening of May 10 strayed as far as Mexico, southern Europe and South Africa, where they delighted skygazers and filled social media with images of exuberant pinks, greens and purples. shades.
But for those charged with protecting Earth from powerful solar storms like the ones that caused the auroras, there’s a threat lurking beneath the stunning colors.