The Solar Storm

From the photographer: “A powerful solar storm hit Earth on April 23 at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 GMT) and sparked magnificent aurora shows around the world. While the incredible green and pink/purple of the ionised oxygen and nitrogen were obvious only on a long exposure photograph, even with the naked eye a faint, unfurling light was visible low on the horizon. We are accustomed to airglow and light pollution, with a happy helping of high, hazy cloud coming off the lakes, that the fact of seeing an aurora at all at this latitude, much less one of such striking and sublime color and structure, is a testament to the strength of the solar activity. Captured at Madison, Wisconsin , USA.”