This Day in History – August 28th, 1859

On August 28, 1859, a geomagnetic storm caused the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it was seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan. From the article:

"This Day in History – August 28th, 1859
August 28, 2014 Aloysius Fox
aurora-borealis-canada
The name Aurora Borealis is the Latin for “Northern Lights.” Aurora translates as “sunrise” and is also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn. An aurora is a natural light display in the sky especially in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric charged particles with the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).

Most auroras occur in a band known as the auroral zone, which typically are to be found in the northern and southern poles, on this day in 1859 there was a geomagnetic storm so powerful that it caused the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it could be seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan."