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© US Navy Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center
A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field and stirring up geomagnetic activity around the Arctic Circle. "On March 11th," reports Paul McCrone, "the DMSP F-18 weather satellite recorded a dramatic auroral event over northern Canada."

McCrone processed the image at the US Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center in Monterey, California. It shows a broad swirl of Northern Lights stretching from Newfoundland across Quebec to the Hudson Bay. "I included an infrared image to show that this is really not a cloud," he says. Auroras are not strong sources of infrared radiation, but clouds are, so infrared images can be used to distinguish the two.

The solar wind continues to blow. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.

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