The upside of a massive solar storm: Dazzling displays of the northern lights


Blasting off of the sun Sunday night, magnetic plasma hurled toward Earth and hit the atmosphere on Monday. The resulting geomagnetic storm is expected to continue over the next few days and, while it is the worst solar storm since March — and could be the worst in the past decade — it also brought a nice little light show along with it:
Forecasters said the northern lights could be visible Tuesday night as far south as Iowa or Pennsylvania. GPS and power grids are at risk of fluctuations.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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