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Northern lights lovers get engaged under beautiful sky
A Canadian couple got engaged under a beautiful Northern Lights display on Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Justin Anderson via Storyful
null - A Canadian couple got engaged under a beautiful Northern Lights display on Oct. 10, 2024.
Justin Anderson, the man behind the proposal, is an avid aurora Borealis chaser and photographer based out of Brandon, Manitoba, which is about 60 miles north of the Canadian and North Dakota border.
That night, the sky sparkled vibrant hues of pinks and purples thanks to a severe geomagnetic storm.
Anderson told Storyful, a video licensing agency, that he knew the timing would be perfect for the proposal once he heard about the storm.
"I’ve been secretly designing a custom ring, waiting for the perfect aurora display to propose," he said.
He said he and his girlfriend connected three years ago over their shared love for the night sky and the aurora.
Credit: Justin Anderson via Storyful
"She said YES!!! Did you really think I would not do it under the aurora?!" Anderson shared on social media.
The geomagnetic storm that night brought Northern Light displays around the world, including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City.
What are geomagnetic storms?
Geomagnetic storms occur when CMEs interact with Earth's magnetic field. In the Northern Hemisphere, these storms can produce stunning auroras, known as the northern lights or aurora borealis.
NOAA classifies geomagnetic storms on a G-scale, with G5 being the most severe.
How dangerous are solar storms?
Not all geomagnetic storms are just a bunch of pretty lights.
Solar storms, encompassing phenomena such as flares and CMEs, pose significant risks to Earth's technological infrastructure.
"In an extreme case, when you have a very, very large magnetic storm, it can actually take out power and destroy transformers over a large region of the United States, for example. And it’s not localized like a tornado or a hurricane or flooding. It is regional - multiple states - like the whole New England area or the South or all of the West Coast, depending on how the power grid is oriented and where the energy is absorbed," NASA scientist Dr. Jim Spann has previously said.
The intensity of these storms can disrupt satellite operations, impacting GPS navigation, satellite television, and telecommunications.
The most severe storms can even damage transformers in power grids, leading to widespread and prolonged electrical blackouts. Additionally, solar storms can increase radiation levels in space, presenting hazards to astronauts and potentially damaging the systems onboard spacecraft.