TALLAHASSEE, FL. — The Arctic cold is not the only thing we got from the north. The Aurora Borealis was visible earlier in the week — and it could be again tonight (11/12/2025). Your eyes might not be strong enough to see it clearly or in full detail, so the best way to view the aurora is through a camera using a long-exposure setting. The peak visible hours are 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The Aurora Borealis (also known as the “Northern Lights”) is a geomagnetic storm created during periods of increased solar activity. The Aurora is the byproduct of Earth’s magnetic field protecting us from solar activity, and is the reason we have not lost our atmosphere like Mars. During a coronal mass ejection, sometimes triggered by solar flares, charged particles are launched into space. When they reach Earth, they follow the planet’s magnetic field down toward the poles and collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. Those collisions excite the atoms, bumping them into higher energy states. When the atoms calm back down, they release that extra energy as light, and that is what creates the colors of the Aurora.
The more charged particles that reach us, the larger the aurora can become. This causes it to stretch farther south instead of staying close to the poles. The reason it has been visible so far south lately is that the Sun is at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Every 11 years, the Sun’s poles swap places, leading to increased solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Without our magnetic field, our planet might have gone the way of Mars. Instead, we get both protection and a dazzling light show.
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