Plasma from the Sun and debris from a comet both collided with planet Earth last Saturday morning triggering magnetic storms [ http://www.sec.noaa…] and a meteor shower in a dazzling atmospheric spectacle [ http://spacescience…ast14aug_1.htm ]. The debris stream from comet Swift-Tuttle is anticipated [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] yearly, and many skygazers [ http://www.imo.net/…] already planned to watch the peak of the annual Perseids [ http://comets.amsme…perseids.html ] meteor shower in the dark hours of August 11/12. But the simultaneous, widely reported [ http://www.globaldi…Aurora.html ] auroras were [ http://www.infowest…aurora.HTML ] triggered by the chance arrival of something much less predictable -- a solar coronal mass ejection [ http://science.nasa…cmes.htm ]. This massive bubble of energetic plasma was seen leaving the active Sun's surface on August 9, just in time to travel to Earth and disrupt the planet's magnetic field [ http://www-spof.gsf…Intro.html ] triggering extensive auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…apod_ts?aurora ] during the meteor shower's peak! Inspired by the cosmic light show, Sebastien Gauthier photographed the [ http://www.geocitie…AlbumPhotoAstronomie /AlbumAstronomie3.ht m ] colorful auroral displays above the dramatic dome of the Mount-Megantic [ http://astrolab.int…] Popular Observatory [ http://astrolab.int…OPMM/ob_pop_choix.ht m ] in southern Quebec, Canada. Bright Jupiter and giant star Aldebaran can be seen peering through [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] the shimmering northern lights at the upper right.
