Storm Chasing
I bet you expected a tornado picture. The storm I’m talking about is a geomagnetic storm.
The Sun’s powerful magnetic field affects much more than its surface. Its magnetic field is so strong that it reaches beyond Neptune’s orbit 2.8 billion miles away.
Every 11 years, the Sun’s magnetic field reverses. The Sun’s magnetic North Pole becomes the South Pole, and vice versa. And during the subsequent solar cycle, the poles switch back again.
The field reverses in the middle (solar maximum) of the cycle. The midpoint of each cycle is characterized by large numbers of sunspots, and it is when the Sun is the most unpredictable.
During the reversal process, the Sun's magnetic field becomes extraordinarily complex and tangled. When stretched too far, twisted magnetic field lines can snap and release energy over a million times greater than a volcanic eruption. These powerful bursts of radiation from its surface produce solar flares traveling outward at the speed of light, arriving at Earth just eight minutes later.
Another solar phenomenon called coronal mass ejection (CME) involves an eruption on the surface of the sun that sends charged particles streaming into space. These particles typically require between one and three days to arrive on Earth.
Like solar flares, CMEs are more common closer to solar maximum. They may also occur even when the sun is calm.
If the Earth is in the path of either of these bursts, they slam into and disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field as illustrated below producing auroras (Northern Lights).
Solar Maximum
2025/2026 is the peak of our current 11-year solar cycle. So, aurora displays are common. And it’s the time when large scale bursts of radiation called geomagnetic storms ranging from G1 (mild) to G5 (extremely severe) can occur.
In May 2024, an extremely rare G5 geomagnetic storm, the strongest since 2003, hit the Earth producing auroras far outside the Arctic Circle across Europe and North America.
On November 11, 2025, this year’s most powerful solar flare erupted from sunspot AR4274. It led to a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm.
It produced stunning auroras that were visible as far south as Mexico and Alabama. My sister-in-law Diane witnessed it in Navarre Beach, Florida.
Photo courtesy of my sister-in-law.
Reports also indicated that the auroras were particularly vivid and widespread. Luckily, various technologies, including satellite operations, navigation systems, and power grids were minimally affected.
The Shot
Naperville, Illinois has the maximum amount (9) of light pollution on the 1-9 Bortle Scale. The night sky is so light polluted that only a few planets and the brightest stars are visible.
Normally, this would cause the aurora to be invisible. But not on November 11. I was home and decided to launch my drone about 100 feet above my house.
To my amazement, I was seeing the aurora despite the light polluted sky and the soon to be rising moon. It was a thrilling sight I never expected to experience from my front yard.
Thanks for looking and Happy Thanksgiving,
Chuck Derus Zenfolio | Chuck Derus