Sudden solar storm brings auroras to US skies; Netizens share epic photos

Aurora enthusiasts witnessed breathtaking displays after a “secret” island in a coronal hole triggered a strong (G3) geomagnetic storm overnight on Sunday, September 14-15, 2025.

For the second time, NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully snapped green auroras on Mars, an amazing feat that will prove helpful in our understanding of the Red Planet's atmospheric and solar interactions.

Based on the previous findings published in the American Astronomical Society, Perseverance’s findings go beyond mere fascination of awe-inspiring planetary phenomena; they are, in fact, critical to our knowledge of how solar winds affect Mars.

Renowned space weather physicist Tamitha Skov explained on her YouTube channel her latest aurora forecast.

She said, “The source of the big solar storm is due to this coronal hole right here, which is a really noteworthy coronal hole for a number of reasons.”

What made this coronal hole so unusual was a subtle but influential magnetic twist.

Skiv further explained that an “island” of positive polarity appeared in the middle of the coronal hole. That positive polarity is what ended up giving us about 6 hours' worth of really intense storming.”

"Little things like this can really make a big difference and change a nothingburger into a G3-level solar storm,” Skov said.

A surprise solar storm lit up US skies with stunning Northern Lights displays. Let’s take a look at how aurora chasers reacted on X while sharing epic photos.

Tony Rodriguez shot stunning red and green aurora pillars above Seneca Lake, New York, US.

He posted the photos, captioning, “Spectacular #aurora on the southern shore of Seneca Lake in NY! The structures were visible to the naked eye. It was quite a show!”

Another aurora chaser, named Joshua Grisewood, enjoyed the mesmerizing aurora show from Pavilion, NY, US. He wrote, "Awesome surprise, Aurora here in New York! Generally I am on top of these, but tonight caught me off guard for sure."

Photographer Andrew Towne witnessed and photographed a breathtaking Northern Lights display and the Milky Way above Casper, Wyoming. He wrote, "What an#Aurora show tonight north of Casper, Wyoming (plus a bonus shot of the Milky Way)!"

After the rover has developed tools to forecast such auroras, it will indeed mark a milestone in space exploration.