Mysterious white streak outshines aurora, and it didn't come from space
The northern lights appeared in the sky over the United States on May 17, and onlookers were stunned when a bright white light outshone the purple and pink glow of the aurora. The mysterious light was reported by people across the western U.S. from New Mexico to Idaho.
Turns out, it had Earthly origins. About an hour before the mysterious white streak appeared, China launched a rocket to deliver six satellites into space. The light is believed to have been from a rocket on the engine, or the spent rocket releasing leftover fuel before burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
The rocket-created light show reminded some stargazers of STEVE, an aurora-like light in the sky which shines as a narrow ribbon of color, as opposed to the aurora borealis which is usually a colorful glow over a broad area of the sky.
Mike Lewinski captured a time-lapse of the eerie light when it appeared over Crestone, Colorado, and was stunned by the sight. "The aurora was rippling low on the northern horizon when suddenly a bright streak of light, reminiscent of a rocket re-entry, appeared high in the sky and flowed down to the horizon," Lewinski told Spaceweather.com. The time-lapse also captured several airplanes and dozens of satellites flying overhead.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Neighbours 'in shock' over Liverpool parade suspect
Neighbours have described their shock and disbelief after discovering the suspect in the Liverpool parade investigation lives close by. A 53-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder remains in custody for questioning after a car ploughed into football fans during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade in the city centre on Monday. A nine-year-old girl was the youngest victim from a total of 79 casualties struck by the Ford Galaxy on Water Street shortly after 18:00 BST. One neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said everyone was "in shock" while a mechanic, who works in the area, described the suspect as a "family man". The neighbour said he first realised the suspect lived close by in the West Derby area of Liverpool when he noticed police officers on shift outside a property. "I knew something was going on," he said. "That's when I thought this is the guy." He said everyone was "in shock" and "can't believe it". "It's such a quiet estate," he added. "Everyone keeps themselves to themselves as he did, so no-one really knows much about him." Steve, who works as mechanic, said he had met the suspect when he brought the family car in for a service – most recently three months ago. He said he recognised the vehicle straightaway on the news from the registration plate. "I thought 'Oh my god. I can't believe it – surely not'," he said. He said the suspect was a "softly spoken family man" who seemed "sensible". "I can't see how this has happened. It's crazy," he added. Another neighbour said she had enjoyed watching the parade with her family before discovering what had happened. "Everyone was saddened by the end of the day while watching the news – and to think that [the suspect] lives on my street is just really shocking," she said. She added that it was a "lovely" and "peaceful" place to live. "I don't know him but all the neighbours down both sides of the street – we've all been friends, we all have barbecues, we've been on holidays together. "It's a close knit community." Merseyside Police said the force had been given more time to question the suspect, who was also detained on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs, until Thursday evening. Under laws around the detention of suspects, police forces can keep a person in custody for 24 hours without charge, while a senior officer of at least superintendent rank can sign off on an initial 12-hour extension. After that, an application can be made to a magistrates' court for further 12-hour extensions to a maximum of 96 hours - or 14 days if the offence is terrorism related. The force previously confirmed the incident was not being treated as terror related. Hundreds of thousands of jubilant Liverpool fans packed the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday and lined the 10-mile (16km) parade route as the Reds celebrated winning their second Premier League crown and 20th top-flight league title. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said it was believed the car had followed an ambulance through a road block, which had been lifted to allow medics to reach someone having a suspected heart attack. A fundraising campaign set up for those affected by the incident has raised more than £30,000, including a £10,000 donation from ex-player Jamie Carragher's charity foundation. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Nine-year-old injured in Liverpool parade crash Emergency fund set up for Liverpool parade victims Police get more time to question Liverpool suspect How Liverpool united after car ploughed into crowd What we know about the Liverpool FC parade incident Why police released details about Liverpool crash suspect so quickly
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Neighbours 'in shock' over Liverpool parade suspect
Neighbours have described their shock and disbelief after discovering the suspect in the Liverpool parade investigation lives close by. A 53-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder remains in custody for questioning after a car ploughed into football fans during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade in the city centre on Monday. A nine-year-old girl was the youngest victim from a total of 79 casualties struck by the Ford Galaxy on Water Street shortly after 18:00 BST. One neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said everyone was "in shock" while a mechanic, who works in the area, described the suspect as a "family man". The neighbour said he first realised the suspect lived close by in the West Derby area of Liverpool when he noticed police officers on shift outside a property. "I knew something was going on," he said. "That's when I thought this is the guy." He said everyone was "in shock" and "can't believe it". "It's such a quiet estate," he added. "Everyone keeps themselves to themselves as he did, so no-one really knows much about him." Steve, who works as mechanic, said he had met the suspect when he brought the family car in for a service – most recently three months ago. He said he recognised the vehicle straightaway on the news from the registration plate. "I thought 'Oh my god. I can't believe it – surely not'," he said. He said the suspect was a "softly spoken family man" who seemed "sensible". "I can't see how this has happened. It's crazy," he added. Another neighbour said she had enjoyed watching the parade with her family before discovering what had happened. "Everyone was saddened by the end of the day while watching the news – and to think that [the suspect] lives on my street is just really shocking," she said. She added that it was a "lovely" and "peaceful" place to live. "I don't know him but all the neighbours down both sides of the street – we've all been friends, we all have barbecues, we've been on holidays together. "It's a close knit community." Merseyside Police said the force had been given more time to question the suspect, who was also detained on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs, until Thursday evening. Under laws around the detention of suspects, police forces can keep a person in custody for 24 hours without charge, while a senior officer of at least superintendent rank can sign off on an initial 12-hour extension. After that, an application can be made to a magistrates' court for further 12-hour extensions to a maximum of 96 hours - or 14 days if the offence is terrorism related. The force previously confirmed the incident was not being treated as terror related. Hundreds of thousands of jubilant Liverpool fans packed the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday and lined the 10-mile (16km) parade route as the Reds celebrated winning their second Premier League crown and 20th top-flight league title. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said it was believed the car had followed an ambulance through a road block, which had been lifted to allow medics to reach someone having a suspected heart attack. A fundraising campaign set up for those affected by the incident has raised more than £30,000, including a £10,000 donation from ex-player Jamie Carragher's charity foundation. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Nine-year-old injured in Liverpool parade crash Emergency fund set up for Liverpool parade victims Police get more time to question Liverpool suspect How Liverpool united after car ploughed into crowd What we know about the Liverpool FC parade incident Why police released details about Liverpool crash suspect so quickly
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Why Americans Are Now In The Best Place To See The Northern Lights
Parts of the U.S. and Canada are currently the best places to see the Northern Lights, but the approaching solstice and shrinking darkness windows means that's not going to last long. Space weather forecasters predicted only a mild G1 geomagnetic storm this week — but what unfolded was far more dramatic. Geomagnetic storms — which cause aurora on Earth — are rated from G1 to G5. What actually happened late on May 28 was rated G3, which saw the aurora viewline stretch into 17 U.S. states. Aurora was even seen in Italy. This particular storm happened because a co-rotating interaction region — a turbulent gap between fast and slow-moving solar wind streams — struck Earth's atmosphere, according to Something similar happened on May 17 when a coronal mass ejection — a clump of super-charged particles hurled into the solar system in the wake of a solar flare — struck Earth's atmosphere instead of, as was forecast, missing the planet. Again, aurora were triggered unexpectedly. The Northern Lights are caused by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the sun that interacts with Earth's magnetic field. As charged particles strike Earth's magnetic field, they accelerate down its magnetic field lines at the north and south poles, exciting particles in the atmosphere to create ovals of green and red. Aurora is usually seen in polar regions near 70° latitude, but during strong geomagnetic storms, the auroral oval can expand, with displays reaching as far as 40 degrees — or even lower in rare cases. The root cause for aurora being seen more southerly in North America is, of course, the sun's solar maximum period, which was declared by NOAA and NASA in October 2024. However, there's a delicate balance of latitude and time of year when it comes to the visibility of aurora. To understand, consider this: the G5 geomagnetic storm on May 10-11, 2024 — the most intense since 2004 and possibly for hundreds of years — was seen across North America, as far south as Florida. But those at 70 degrees north, where the aurora oval typically sits over almost permanently, saw nothing. In the Northern Hemisphere, North America and Europe had the very best views of that display. It's happening again. But why? The aurora season in the Northern Hemisphere is typically said to be between September and March, essentially between the equinoxes when there are more hours of darkness than daylight. That's not the case now, of course, with the farther you travel north, the fewer hours of darkness. The reason? It doesn't truly get dark in May across the auroral zone. For example, in Anchorage, Alaska, at 61 degrees north, sunset is currently at 11:15 p.m., and there is no astronomical darkness. Along the U.S.-Canada border, true darkness — known as astronomical night — currently lasts from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., offering a narrow window for aurora viewing. There's a cut-off line in North America that's gradually rising northwards as we approach the solstice on June 21, with astronomical darkness becoming even shorter by the end of June. Meanwhile, the aurora viewline, as forecast by NOAA, drifts farther south when a geomagnetic storm is predicted. That makes the northern U.S. states ideal for aurora viewing right now. And if a geomagnetic storm strikes, the lights could stretch even farther south — where longer nights make sightings more likely. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
