{"id":382497,"date":"2026-01-21T16:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382497\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:25:10","slug":"stunning-aurora-lights-up-us-skies-with-green-and-red-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382497\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunning aurora lights up US skies with green and red display"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>Streaks of shimmering green and red bands exploded in the dark skies above <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/alaska\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alaska<\/a>\u2019s largest city Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The stunning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/aurora\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">aurora<\/a> provided a light show for early morning dog walkers, joggers and commuters.<\/p>\n<p>Anchorage was not alone in seeing vivid displays following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/space\/sun-solar-flare-aurora-northern-lights-b2903514.html\" title=\"Largest solar radiation storm in more than 20 years could trigger auroras on Earth\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a major disturbance in the Earth\u2019s magnetic field<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The aurora didn\u2019t disappoint, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/aurora-borealis-uk-skies-photos-b2903664.html\" title=\"Best Northern Lights photos as aurora borealis creates stunning images in skies over UK and Europe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">its reach overnight<\/a> Monday and into Tuesday was wide. <\/p>\n<p>Social media was lit up with stunning aurora photos from places including Alaska, San Francisco, Chicago, Canada and across Europe.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26020618855346.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The best way to see auroras is to get away from areas with light pollution and allow time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>open image in gallery<\/p>\n<p>The best way to see auroras is to get away from areas with light pollution and allow time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness (AP)<\/p>\n<p>The intense displays came amid intense geomagnetic and solar radiation storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Space Weather Prediction Center.<\/p>\n<p>Monday night\u2019s solar radiation storm was the largest seen since October 2003, according to the NOAA.<\/p>\n<p>The agency said it notified FEMA, power grid operators and aviation interests about both storms and had <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NWSSWPC\/status\/2013352199670177888\">been in contact with NASA<\/a> about the health of astronauts on the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p>In November, solar storms brought vibrant auroras to parts of Europe including Hungary and the United Kingdom, and as far south in the United States as Texas.<\/p>\n<p>The best way to see auroras is to get away from areas with light pollution and allow time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26020618856983.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"This natural phenomenon, usually confined to regions near the Arctic Circle, was visible in some countries due to heightened solar activity\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>open image in gallery<\/p>\n<p>This natural phenomenon, usually confined to regions near the Arctic Circle, was visible in some countries due to heightened solar activity (AP)<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26020632578524.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Monday night\u2019s solar radiation storm was the largest seen since October 2003, according to the NOAA\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>open image in gallery<\/p>\n<p>Monday night\u2019s solar radiation storm was the largest seen since October 2003, according to the NOAA (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-382497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}