The world we live in is all interconnected. It is high past time that we realize this and begin to live our lives in relationship to this truth. Our world as humans have taken a drastic turn in that direction through the use of the internet and social networking sites. But in the natural world it has always been this way. Nothing so vividly illustrates this than the beautiful example of pollination. The old expression about the birds and the bees touches on just how important they are to our world. Without the birds and very importantly the bees, our food production would fall dramatically. Foods such as apples, asparagus, aubergine, avocado, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, onions, pumpkin, squash and strawberries would be gone. We would also lose many beautiful flowers of the world that help to beautify our lives.

Recently there has been a drastic decrease in the bees from around the world. This is an urgent situation that scientists are diligently trying to solve. Most likely many of us have hardly noticed or given it much thought as to what would happen if the bees were to disappear for good. Below is a beautiful time lapse video that portrays just how important these little creatures and how they make our world so wonderful through their gift of pollination.

Pollen vectors are animals, usually insects, that transport pollen of plants when using the flowers for feeding, breeding or hiding. The pollen is found adhered to insect's body parts such as face, legs and mouthparts or to mammal's hairs, resulting or helping in the pollination of many plant species. An example are wasps, which can transport pollen and contribute for the pollination of several plant species, being potential or even efficient pollinators.

The process of pollination requires pollinators: organisms that carry or move the pollen grains from the anther to the receptive part of the carpel or pistil. This is biotic pollination. The various flower traits (and combinations thereof) that differentially attract one type of pollinator or another are known as pollination syndromes. Roughly 200,000 varieties of animal pollinators are in the wild, most of which are insects.[3] Entomophily, pollination by insects, often occurs on plants that have developed colored petals and a strong scent to attract insects such as, bees, wasps and occasionally ants (Hymenoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), and flies (Diptera). In zoophily, pollination is performed by vertebrates such as birds and bats, particularly, hummingbirds, sunbirds, spiderhunters, honeyeaters, and fruit bats. Plants adapted to using bats or moths as pollinators typically have white petals and a strong scent, while plants that use birds as pollinators tend to develop red petals and rarely develop a scent (few birds rely on a sense of smell to find plant-based food).


Insect pollinators such as honeybees (Apis mellifera),bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), and butterflies (Thymelicus flavus) have been observed to engage in flower constancy, which means they are more likely to transfer pollen to other conspecific plants. This can be beneficial for the pollenisers, as flower constancy prevents the loss of pollen during interspecific flights and pollinators from clogging stigmas with pollen of other flower species.
~ Excerpted from Wikipedia

If there was ever a video to explain what "a case of the Mondays" means, it's this one. In fact, we're a little envious of this little guys total lack of self-awareness. This has to be one satisfying nap.

In the video's info section, YouTube user thamesditto46 provides some details on the snoring snoozer.

"Dormice hibernate in the winter in nests that they make hidden away on the ground. In Britain the dormouse may spend up to 1/3 of its life in hibernation. Dormice usually enter hibernation at the time of the first frost, when nearly all food is gone. Dormice rely upon fat reserves gathered in the summer and autumn, and during hibernation they loose [sic] about a quarter of their body weight."

They don't normally snore like this, but don't worry. This one was fine really and in expert hands. He was only briefly removed from his nest to be weighed and check he has enough fat reserves to sleep on safely through until spring.

According to the information, the video was taken by Surrey Wildlife Trust Mammal Project Officer Dave Williamstook -- if you want someone to thank for the cuteness.
(Source)

An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the sun, but the lunar disk is not quite wide enough to cover the entire star. At maximum, the Moon forms a "black hole" in the center of the sun.

The “path of annularity” is a strip about 300 km wide and thousands of km long. It stretches from China and Japan, across the Pacific Ocean, to the middle of North America. In the United States, the afternoon sun will become a luminous ring in places such as Medford, Oregon; Chico, California; Reno, Nevada; St. George, Utah; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas.

Outside of this relatively narrow zone, the eclipse will be partial. Observers almost everywhere west of the Mississippi will see a crescent-shaped sun as the Moon passes by off-center.

"I like to compare different types of eclipses on a scale of 1 to 10 as visual spectacles," says NASA's leading eclipse expert, Fred Espenak of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "If a partial eclipse is a 5 then an annular eclipse is a 9."

This event should not be confused with a total eclipse. In a total eclipse, the Moon covers the entire surface of the sun, bringing an eerie twilight to observers in the path of totality and revealing the sun’s ghostly corona.

"On that scale of 1 to 10," he adds, "a total eclipse is 'a million!' It's completely off the charts compared to any other astronomical event." The next total eclipse in the USA is in the year 2017.


Annular eclipses have a special charm all their own. During an annular eclipse, sunbeams turn into little rings of light. The best place to see this is on the sun-dappled ground beneath a leafy tree

Be careful when looking directly at the eclipsed sun, cautions Espenak. "The ring of sunlight during annularity is blindingly bright. Even though as much as 94% of the Sun's disk will be covered, you still need to use a solar filter or some type of projection technique. A #14 welder's glass is a good choice. There are also many commercially-available solar filters."

"One of the unique things about this eclipse for watchers in the USA is that the Sun will still be in deep partial eclipse at sunset, making for some great photographic opportunities," he continues. "In western Texas around Lubbock, the sun actually sets during the annular phase."
Via Source: Science@NASA

Heléne Burrow was born and raised in the U.K. Like most other wildlife artists she grew up loving animals and nature. She held a particular fascination for the wolf and also Native American culture.
She currently lives in the English lake district which has enabled her to paint the stunning beauty of the area.

Heléne was educated in natural history illustration at Blackpool Art College in the UK. When she graduated, Heléne became a paste-up artist and printers’ plate-maker with a Lakeland printing company. She also spent three years completing her practical art education working as a graphic artist for a local newspaper. With this commercial experience and financial stability, Heléne was then able to pursue her chosen vocation as a freelance artist.

Heléne's artwork is very authentic which is highly valued by her collectors. A reason for this is her many hours of research into her choice of subjects. For her Native American artwork, she has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. including study trips to Colorado, Wyoming, including Yellowstone Park and the Crow and Wind River Indian Reservations. She has also undertaken work at the Buffalo Bill Indian museum in Cody, Wyoming where she gained an invaluable source of research and reference. For her beloved wolves she has spent many hours at the UK Wolf Conservation Centre in Berkshire where she has walked with the wolves. She has also spent time at Wolf Hollow in Massachusetts and the Queens Zoo in New York.

Heléne's preferred medium is with Acrylic paint and she has developed her style to embrace the strengths of this medium. She does however continue to work with pencil and watercolors. Recently she has begun to also work with oil paints from which she has developed her own technique.

Today Heléne’s work can be found in private collections in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia. However, public access to her work is largely through temporary exhibitions throughout the UK. Below are some wonderful examples of her beautiful artwork.

The expedition to the pristine tropical forests of Suriname was led by the charity Conservation International.

The collaboration between scientists, indigenous people and students recorded 1,300 species in total.

The team is now working to confirm which of these weird and wonderful creatures are newly discovered species.

Among those they believe to be new to science are the "cowboy frog", an amphibian with white fringes along its legs, and a spur-like structure on its "heel".

Another colourful addition to the scientific record is a a cricket, or katydid, that has been named the "crayola katydid" because of its bright colouration.

One of the new finds - an armoured catfish that has bony plates covered with spines all over its body to defend itself from the giant piranhas the inhabit the same waters - was almost eaten by one of the expedition guides.

Fortunately, before the guide had a chance to tuck in, the scientists noticed the fish's unique characteristics and preserved it as a specimen.

The three-week project was part of Conservation International's ongoing Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), which has been in progress for more than 20 years.

RAP director Dr Trond Larsen explained why this area of Suriname was so special.

"As you fly into the area, you travel for hundreds of miles and often [don't] see a single road - just continuous forest," he told BBC Nature.

"It's one of the last places in the world where you can find that wilderness."

Dr Larsen pointed out that conservationists often focused on places that were "already on the brink".

"We take these wildernesses for granted," he told BBC Nature. "But unless we focus on them now, they won't be like that for long."

The team have already helped the local people to designate an area of the forest as a "no take zone".

The eventual plan is for this area to become a small nature reserve.

This could safeguard native wildlife, ensuring that indigenous people are able to hunt sustainably, as well as encouraging ecotourism. (Source)

We are all pretty familiar now with the fact that animals tend to bring out the best in people. Most likely if you go on a walk by yourself, people will pretty much ignore you. That is because as strangers, there is always a trust issue with people. But if you take a dog with you, people are much more apt to approach you or say hi. A dog or an animal bridges the gap of distrust and relaxes perfect strangers around each other.

Animals are known to be honest in their feelings of love and this tends to add enrichment to our lives. Animals are very important to many people because they bring so much happiness to us. This kind of happiness is usually defined as a satisfaction with life and a general sense of well-being. Interaction with animals most often involves touching and petting them and the benefits to both humans and the animals are quite obvious. Scientifically though it has been proven that stroking an animal will cause physical and emotional benefits to humans such as relaxation, lower blood pressure, improved long- and short-term memory, and sensory stimuli.

But humans are not the only recipients of the power of touch. Animals also benefit greatly from this type of interaction. In their own world with their own species, most animals interact with each other by cuddling, nuzzling, licking and preening those that they love. It creates a bond between them which is especially essential when it comes to caring for their young who in turn perpetuate the continuance of their species.

So it should not be to hard to understand that when a human and animal also interact that the animal also feels much happiness and many times a strong bond with the human. Physiologically, we are very similar in our sensory perception and the makeup of our nervous systems. It is a two way street to happiness, well-being and love and a wonderful way to bridge the gap between man and animal.

The video below is an endearing and somewhat comical portrayal of the complete enjoyment that a little owl is experiencing by being petted by someone. The expressions of joy on his face are quite precious.

After being rescued, Belle was taken to Healesville Sanctuary in Australia, where she currently lives with her best friend, Phoenix, another orphaned wombat.

As featured on Vice's "The Cute Show," Felicity Fahey, a keeper at Healesville, explains that Belle came to the refuge after her mother was hit and killed by a car. When Fahey's not chasing her "beautiful monsters," she can be found feeding, playing or even singing to them.

The best part of the video has to be when the two wombats simultaneously dive into a tunnel that's too small for both of them, the two fighting until one finally wiggles in front of the other.

According to National Geographic, wombats inhabit Australia and surrounding islands. They give birth to tiny, undeveloped young that crawl into pouches on their mothers' bellies. The infant lives in its mother's pouch for five months before striking out on its own. By seven months, the wombat can fully take care of itself.

Source



Watch Belle and Phoenix scurry, scuttle and play in their new home in the adorable video

Domestic violence against women and children is a huge problem around the world. In just the U.S. alone, over 324,000 women admit to being abused by their partners every year. The old rule of thumb is whatever is admitted is usually only a small fraction of the truth. There are shelters set up to take these women in but the need is great. Many times a woman will stay with an abusive partner because they have pets and pets are not allowed to go with them to these shelters. It has been estimated to be up to 40% of women who stay in an abusive situation because they don't want to leave their pets behind.

Recently in St. Louis, Mo., a woman was attacked by her boyfriend who tried to kill her with a hammer. As he was striking her, the woman's Great Dane jumped on top of her to take the blows himself. Since the boyfriend couldn't get to the woman, he then threw them both out of a 2nd story window. The heroic Great Dane suffered multiple broken bones in the attack but he saved his owner’s life in the process.

Despite their injuries the woman was able to escape with her dog and made her way to the Rose Brooks Center. When they offered her a bed and told her no pets were allowed, she was very defiant about leaving her dog behind who had just saved her life. For the first time in its history, the shelter overlooked regulations and allowed the dog to stay. Today there are big changes going on at the Rose Brooks Center. They are building a pet center there where women can come and bring their pets too. All because of a fateful day and one very heroic dog.

Endangered Amur leopards from UK zoos could soon be heading to Russia as part of a captive breeding and release programme to save the big cat.

There are estimated to be just 25 to 35 Amur leopards left in the wild in the far east of Russia, with numbers driven down by poaching of both the cat and its prey and damage to its habitat from activities such as logging and forest fires.

But experts are hoping to reverse the fortunes of the rarest big cat in the world with a programme using animals bred from captive Amur leopards.

A multinational scheme to reintroduce the species, which would run alongside efforts to protect the existing wild population, has so far failed to secure the necessary funding, but the Russian government has backed a Moscow-based programme.

Experts from organisations including the UK's Wildlife Vets International are working with the Russian scheme, which has established a captive breeding centre on the edge of the territory where it is planned leopards will be released.

Leopards will be mated and rear cubs at the centre, with the young fed live prey to allow them to learn how to hunt before they are released into the wild at around 12 to 18 months old – the time they would normally leave their mothers.

Dr John Lewis, veterinary director of Wildlife Vets International and veterinary adviser to the Amur leopard European captive breeding programme, said the centre could start receiving leopards in a few months' time.

Lewis said UK wildlife parks and zoos could contribute animals to the scheme once the European breeding programme was confident that the centre in Russia was suitable for the project.

Some improvements, such as better security, were needed first, he said.

Lewis has also developed a disease risk assessment to see what conditions may pose significant problems to Amur leopards, and a screening programme to ensure a healthy captive population with genetic diversity.

The plan is to rotate different animals through the Russian breeding programme so that the released young will be genetically diverse.

To begin with, the reintroduced population will be kept separate from the existing wild population to avoid conflict between cats and the risk of spreading disease.

It may be many years before the scheme can be judged to have been successful, but Lewis believes the programme could help with conservation management of other cat species.

"The Amur leopard is facing a situation which may face a number of other big cats in the future, with populations which become so low that in the blink of an eye it could be extinct," he said.

"A lot of lessons we learn in trying to manage this will be applicable to a much wider range of cats in the future.

"The more we learn about the whole process, on disease risk assessment and management and release, the more we will be in a position to help a wider range of cats."

Source

On the eve of the opening of the very misleading and wolf demonizing Hollywood film, "The Grey" there is hope of another movie that will be coming out soon that portrays the wolves in a very clear and truthful way. That movie is called the "Wolves Unleashed."

This movie is currently being shown in North America at various film festivals with great reviews. The story is a journey to one of the coldest places on earth, Siberia, where the temperature drops to -60C. It was directed by world-renowned animal trainer, Andrew Simpson, his Canadian crew and a pack of wolves as he set out to make the biggest wolf film ever. It took 5 months to make the movie and it was a labor of love and lot's of sacrifice.

The footage in this film is completely authentic and real without any computer special effects as is the case in so many movies today. Wolves are one of the most misunderstood animals of all time, but this film will make you see them in a new light. You will question everything you thought you ever knew about wolves by the end of it. Instead of the falsely portrayed, blood- thirsty aggressors as is shown in The Grey, you will see an animal that is graceful, caring, affectionate, trusting and capable of expressing all levels of emotion. You will see who the wolf really is beyond all the false images and hype that has always surrounded it.

The director, Andrew Simpson, is originally from Scotland. He is a well respected animal trainer in the film industry who currently lives in Canada. Although he deals with all species, his speciality is with wolves. It is because of his reputation that he was asked to travel to Siberia to make the biggest wolf film ever attempted. Having worked for almost every major Hollywood studio on over 100 productions, he made the decision to venture in a new direction.


There was a very important reason for Andrew to make this film. He wanted to show the true side of wolves - a different side from all the fairy tales and horror stories that many people have come to believe. This is an important movie to stand behind as wolf advocates - it finally tells the long overdue truth about the wolves.

Around the world and over the centuries, some culture have honered wolves as noble and spiritual,while others have maligned them as evil and dangerous. With the development of wildlife science has come a much better understanding of wolf behavior. But many misconceptions about wolves remain-sometimes these beliefs prevent the animal's recovery and survival.


Wolves are big,strong predators, so many people see them as dangerous.But there has never been a documented case in North America of a healty, wild wolf killing or injuring a human being since records started being kept in the 1800s. Any attacks that have been documented occurred because wolves had rabies or were habituated by humans (like wolf-dog hybrids kept as pets). In contrast, millions of people are attacked each year by domestic dogs.


Livestock can be easy prey for all predators, and ranchers and farmers do suffer some losses. But other causes (like weather, disease, and calving problems) cause far more livestock deaths than predation by wolves. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Northern Rockies region in 2001, wolves were responsible for only .03% of cattle and 1.3% of sheep deaths from all causes and 1% of cattle and 0.4% of sheep deaths due to predators.

Improved livestock husbandry practises make a big difference, like rotating and guarding herds, keeping them away from wolf denning and rendezvous sites, and removing dead cows and sheep from fields so wolves don't get used to feeding on livestock. Some organisation and states also compensate livestock producers for losses caused by wolves.




It's natural for wild canids (dog species) to defend their territories-wolves do so against other wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs. As a result, wolves occasionally attack and kill dogs they see as a threat.

This can happen when hunters let dogs range free and pets are left outside homes in areas with wolves. There are many ways to reduce wolf-dog conflict and protect pets from potential harm, like keeping them collared and belled, closely supervised, and away from wolf denning and rendezvous sites at certain times of the year.




Wolves hunt and kill the same animals humans do (notably deer and elk). However, there is little evidence to support contentions that wolves cause unhealthy decreases in the size of herds and reduce hunting opportunities for humans. For example, Minnesota had its highest record deer harvests in 2003 and 2004, while at the same time supporting approximately 2,000 wolves.

Factors like harsh winter weather, traffic, disease, and parasite outbreaks have a far greater impact on herds than wolves, which kill a relatively small number of animals.

In some places where wolves have returned after a long absence, deer and elk have become more vigilant and move around more-although this can make hunting more challenging in certain places, it doesn't mean that game animals aren't available for hunting.




With much of the nation's land now developed and natural environments very changed, the large numbers of wildlife that once existed will probably never return. The goal of wolf recovery is to have healthy, wild populations of wolves living and surviving in as much as their former ranges as possible.

This goal is a key part of an important law, the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. And as studies and polls show, public opinion is on the side of more wolf recovery.

Although there are significant wolf populations in Alaska and the wolves in the Great Lakes and Northern Rockies regions are recovering, wolves are just beginning to recover in the Southwest and Southeast and are still missing from the Northeast and other places. And the state management plans, regulations, and public attitudes sometimes compromise the health and survival of existing wolf populations.

Further land conversation, education, and recovery efforts are clearly needed, and wolves will require protection and support for a long time to come.

The life of a newborn is so precious. It is the perfect example of vulnerability and sweetness and at the same time there is the possibility of hope for a new life and beginning. With the first cry or wobbly steps taken it is a sign that nature has done it's job and now it is the mother that must take over with care and love and nurturing so that the baby will thrive.

All mammals and birds are dependent on their mothers when first born but many times others help share this responsibility. Whether it be in a flock, pack or family, caring for the newborn becomes the priority of all those involved. It is a time when not only providing food and love and security for the baby is important but also the guidance toward becoming independent someday so that they also will be able to continue the cycle of perpetuation of their species.

The video below shows the tender first moments of a baby fawn as it rises to stand for the very first time. It is unsteady at first and in awe of it's new existence. Soon though is becomes quite steadfast in it's walk and begins to follow it's mother who is always nearby to help her baby. It is very touching to be able to witness these special moments which in the past were not available for all to see. It reminds us of how all life on this planet Earth is tied together.

We are not unique and above other species when it comes to raising our families. Rather we are apart of a large community of inhabitants on this Earth that all share the same kind of concern and love for our offspring. It is a huge lesson to be learned so that we can begin to treat all creatures with respect as we are all of the same beautiful plan that was bestowed upon us by our Creator.

NASA on Wednesday released "Blue Marble 2012," a view of the home planet that the agency calls the "most amazing high definition image of Earth."

Unlike the original Blue Marble -- the iconic 1972 photograph taken by the Apollo 17 crew while they were on their way to the moon -- this composite image is made from data collected by the Suomi NPP satellite.

The Suomi NPP collected the data for the image from multiple passes of the Earth on January 4, 2012. The satellite orbits the planet 14 times per day at an altitude of 512 miles.

NASA says the satellite, which was launched on October 28, will collect data for forecasting weather and help scientists better understand climate change.

The space agency this week announced that the satellite, which was formerly known as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, would be renamed to honor Verner E. Suomi. Suomi was a University of Wisconsin meteorologist who NASA calls "the father of satellite meteorology." (Source)

LOOK: "Blue Marble 2012" High Definition Image of Earth:(Click on the picture to see  in HD)

A recent biodiversity survey in a remote corner of Tajikistan has yielded surprising results.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) recently teamed up with local and international scientists to conduct a survey of life in the Zorkul nature reserve, near the Afghan border. FFI's team planted camera traps which captured images of five different snow leopards in one valley, according to a press release.

Wired UK reports that the FFI team, with the help of Panthera, planted 11 cameras around a 5.8 square mile (15 square kilometer) area in August 2011.

The survey's results have prompted a quick response. FFI's Dr. Alex Diment told Wired UK that FFI is training local rangers in the nature reserve "on how to work in the harsh field conditions, and how to combat illegal poaching and other threats."

Their actions are undoubtedly warranted. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species currently lists snow leopards (Panthera uncia) as endangered.

FFI reports that habitat loss and poaching have caused at least a 20 percent decline in snow leopard populations in the past 16 years.

Scientific American writes that scientists in Australia have created "embryonic stem-like cells from the tissue of an endangered adult snow leopard." The scientists' (theoretical) goal is to help save endangered big cat species by reproducing them in labs.


Earlier this month, a team from the Wildlife Conservation Society photographed mother and cub snow leopards together in Afghanistan.

Below, check out images of the snow leopards in Tajikistan by FFI's biodiversity survey.

Images and captions courtesy of Fauna & Flora International.
Source

The Arctic is a fascinating place full of many different kinds of land and sea animals. These animals all have their own habitat and not all of it is frozen. The animals vary in size and characteristics and are well adapted to the harshness of the area.

The Arctic consists of eight nations. They are Canada, Denmark (Greenland),Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. One reason that it is a very important area is because of how it affects the weather patterns in the northern hemisphere.

The arctic land is mainly tundra and it is frozen above the tree line. It is covered with hearty plants like moss and lichen, which the caribou and muskox feed on. The arctic animals that live here are hearty creatures because they must be able to withstand the low temperatures, precipitation and strong winds that are common in the Arctic. These animals live all over the Arctic and most do not go below the arctic circle or 66-1/2 degrees north latitude. Each of them are vital and significant to each other and also to the arctic people for survival.

The Arctic animals are the Arctic fox, the wolf, the Arctic hare, the Arctic tern, the Caribou, Collared Lemming, Doll sheep, Musk ox, Snowy owl and the wolverine. There is also a wide range of marine mammals and fish that live in the severe conditions of the Arctic ocean. Whales, dolphins (narwhal), walruses and seals all make their home in this North Polar region. This region is covered by ice most of the year. The great polar bear depends on these marine mammals and fish for his food.


The video below shows the animals in their daily dance of life in the Arctic. It is quite spectacular to see. It is not an easy life but it is all they know and they thrive where others dare not tread.

Aurora Borealis captured by UK photographers

A series of powerful solar flares, which began erupting from the Sun on 19 January, amplified the Northern Lights between 21 to 23 January, making them clearly visible in areas of Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. The coronal ejections were caused by solar storms in Region 1401 of the Sun, and if they continue, could create similar scenes in the northern regions of the UK and western Europe over the coming nights.

The lights are created when by solar winds, charged with particles from the sun, meet Earth's atmosphere and react with the its magnetic field. The aurorae tend to be visible towards the extreme north and south of the planet as the solar plasma pulses are magnetically drawn towards the poles. Coronal ejections from the Sun in the direction of Earth ramp up the amount of plasma heading to the planet, creating geomagnetic storms which create brighter aurorae visible (in this case) further south then usual.(Source)

Mr Reed, who captured the dancing lights on his Canon 5D at 10.30pm on Sunday night, said the display was "unreal."

He said: "It is very difficult to predict when the lights are going to be visible. We saw the lights in the far distance, whereas in Norway or Iceland they would be above your head.

"People were dancing around under the lights – they were unreal. The lights were visible from about 6pm, but they peaked at around 10.30pm before they died out at midnight."

A powerful flare erupted from the sun last Thursday, unleashing a plasma wave that supercharged the Northern Lights into high latitudes.

Auroras occur when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's upper atmosphere, releasing visible light in the process.

The particles are funnelled toward Earth's polar regions by the planet's magnetic field. The glow is caused by high-energy electrons colliding with oxygen atoms and nitrogen molecules.

The potent solar flare unleashed the biggest radiation storm since 2005 and could disrupt some satellite communications in the polar regions, US space weather monitors said. (Source)

This January 19, 2012 image provided by NASA shows an M3.2 solar flare captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An earth-directed coronal mass ejection was associated with the solar flare. NASA's Space Weather Services estimated that it traveled at over 630 miles per second and reached the Earth on January 21, when strong geomagnetic storms and aurora were observed.





Aurora borealis pictured over Norway by Daily Telegraph photographer Clara Molden