NASA's THEMIS satellite, launched less than 8 months ago has discovered some interesting findings regarding the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. The energy traveled twice as fast as anyone previously thought, traveling about 400 miles in a minute.  I wish I could move that fast.  THEMIS also discovered that the Earth's magnetic field appears to be linked to the sun by what appear to be magnetic ropes.  These ropes seem to originating in the Magnetosphere and are seemingly almost as wide as Earth itself.

I have been fortunate and have seen the Northern Lights at two points in my life.  Both times canoeing up in the wilderness of Canada. The sight is nothing short of breathtaking.  The pictures you see can't even begin to grasp how beautiful they are.  Sadly for me, living right outside Philadelphia, it is seemingly impossible to see the Northern Lights from here.  On a clear night up there though, I could see thousands upon thousands of stars, the Milky Way, and of course the Northern Lights.

Northern Lights Race Across the Sky [Space.com]

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