Last night, as predicted, a gust of solar wind hit Earth's magnetic field, sparking bright Valentine's auroras around the Arctic Circle. Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen sends this picture of the sweet lights over Bø in Vesterålen, Norway:

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© Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen
"It was a short but beautiful blast of Northern Lights," says Ingvaldsen. "Perhaps this is a preview of things to come later this week." Indeed, a series of CMEs en route to Earth from exploding sunspot 1158 are expected to arrive on Feb. 15th-17th, prompting bright displays at even lower latitudes. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

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© Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen

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© Gabi and Gunter ReichertWe were out all night looking for the northern lights. Had our three children with us. While driving home to Henningsvaer we saw the corona above us. What a sight! The kids (aged 16,14 and 12) got very excited, "oh, look here, and there" "It's even better here", this happy talk accomanied us while taking photos. We missed the most colorful corona because we didn't get the cameras out in time. But we saw it and took some photos right after that. What a fantastic experience for the whole family!

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© Gabi and Gunter ReichertLocation: Sundklakkstraumen, Norway. Date: February 14

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© Gabi and Gunter Reichert