Magnetosphere: region of space of where charged particles of the solar wind interacts with a planet's magnetic field.
Magnetospheres are rather oddly shaped and Earth's is no exception. Bulging in front of the sun side of the planet, the magnetosphere deflects the solar wind, thus protecting the planet. So, when a scary coronal mass ejection shoots towards the planet, the only thing that people might notice is very unusual auroras, not only in terms of color and size but also viewing locations. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, places much further south can actually see an aurora.
This has been true recently as solar flare activity has risen. Of course, Astronomy Picture of the Day has been spotlighting photographs of the auroral effect when the particles hit the Earth's magnetosphere, causing excited atoms to light up the night sky.
The first entry was January 24th's January Aurora Over Norway, which looks like an eagle head. The next was a 360 degree view in Sweden titled Planet Aurora Borealis on January 28th.
The current entry moves to the Southern Hemisphere with Red Aurora Over Australia, which captures nicely the Milky Way in addition to a very red aurora.
The trio offer an interesting look at not only auroras but also photographic style. I recommend taking a look.
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