Earlier this week, the Sun unleashed a powerful X-class solar flare, a major burst of electromagnetically charged particles that lit up the Earth\u2019s night sky as they entered our planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The effect was stunning: a dazzling display of auroras reaching as far as southern California<\/a>. Forecasters told CNN<\/a> that it was one of the largest solar storms in decades, making for a particularly unique opportunity to watch the show unfold. Our art director spotted the cosmic light show in rural Maine, where he said they were \u201cquite beautiful and vibrant.\u201d<\/p>\n But as one could imagine, the views are even more spectacular above the Earth\u2019s atmosphere from the vantage point of the International Space Station, as demonstrated in a stunning video<\/a> shared by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui on X earlier this month. The video shows gorgeous hues blanketing the Earth\u2019s night sky, dancing high above the surface like a diffused, multicolored glow.<\/p>\n Yui was one of the four crew members who were recently medically evacuated<\/a> from the ISS this week, although it remains unclear which of the astronauts suffered a medical issue.<\/p>\n The JAXA astronaut shared the video four days after NASA first reported<\/a> a \u201cmedical concern with a crew member\u201d and five days before returning to Earth<\/a> on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft weeks ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that I would soon return, the sun must have tried its best, as I was able to capture a very beautiful aurora,\u201d he wrote in the caption in Japanese. \u201cI was happy to have captured it, but above all, imagining everyone smiling with joy upon seeing the footage, I smiled to myself with a laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u304a\u306f\u3088\u3046\u3054\u3056\u3044\u307e\u3059\uff01 \u2014 \u6cb9\u4e95 \u4e80\u7f8e\u4e5f\u3000Kimiya.Yui (@Astro_Kimiya) January 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n This latest solar storm, which reached what\u2019s known as G4<\/a> \u2014 or \u201csevere\u201d status, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) \u2014 caused charged particles released by a coronal mass ejection to collide with the Earth\u2019s magnetosphere.<\/p>\n Auroras, or northern lights, are triggered when these charged particles interact with and ionize the gases in the atmosphere, emitting light in varying colors as a result. While they\u2019re dazzling to look at, all of these particle interactions can wreak havoc with satellites and other human-made objects in the Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been making all these phone calls to ensure that we are keeping all the critical technological infrastructure operators in the know of what\u2019s happening,\u201d Shawn Dahl, a forecaster at the National Weather Service\u2019s Space Weather Prediction Center, told CNN.<\/p>\n As Live Science reports<\/a>, it was a particularly powerful geomagnetic storm \u2014 but not the strongest one on record. A May 2024 storm reached G5<\/a>, or \u201cextreme,\u201d status, the first to do so since an equally ferocious \u201cGreat Halloween solar storm<\/a>\u201d in 2003.<\/p>\n While the auroras were breathtaking<\/a>, the 2024 storm was powerful enough to shut down tractors and other equipment<\/a> in the middle of planting season, as they relied on GPS and other navigation tech that was brought down by the Sun\u2019s particles.<\/p>\n More on auroras: Astronomers Stunned as Epic Mars Aurora Covers Entire Planet<\/a><\/p>\n \t
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\u64ae\u5f71\u3067\u304d\u305f\u4e8b\u3082\u5b09\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3067\u3059\u304c\u3001\u4f55\u3088\u308a\u6620\u50cf\u3092\u898b\u3066\u7686\u3055\u3093\u304c\u559c\u3093\u3067\u304f\u3060\u3055\u308b\u69d8\u5b50\u3092\u601d\u3044\u6d6e\u304b\u3079\u30011\u4eba\u3067\u5fae\u7b11\u307f\u307e\u3057\u305f\u7b11\u3002 pic.twitter.com\/qQJDpqlq1U<\/a><\/p>\n