‘Cannibal’ solar eruption triggers huge magnetic storm and stunning visuals

It was a uncommon cosmic collision — and nan entity responded successful technicolor.

A uncommon and rowdy “cannibal” solar eruption slammed into Earth this week, which painted nan entity successful jaw-dropping colour from Scotland to nan South Pole.

The freaky phenomenon, known arsenic a cannibal coronal wide ejection (CME), occurred aft 2 star eruptions decided to merge mid-flight, forming 1 massive, magnetic monster that socked Earth’s ambiance connected April 15.

The result? A world rave successful nan sky.

Experts astatine NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center had warned of a G3-level large wind for April 16 — but Mother Nature cranked it up to G4 briefly, sending charged particles consecutive into nan history books and triggering wild aurora sightings acold from nan poles.

In Finland, aurora photographer Austin MacDonald was near speechless.

“I was amazed and almost overwhelmed. Living successful Finland, I spot auroras beautiful often, from mini G1 storms to past year’s utmost G5 storm. But past nighttime was thing special,” MacDonald told Space.com.

“It came connected truthful fast, and it wasn’t conscionable overhead, it was to nan south, north, east, west… It felt for illustration I was opinionated wrong a 360-degree aurora sphere. It conscionable made maine consciousness incredibly small,” he said of nan ray show, which peaked astir 11:45 p.m. section time.

MacDonald — who utilized to activity successful meteorology, compared nan spectacle to hitting nan atmospheric jackpot.

“In galore ways, this felt for illustration witnessing nan atmospheric balanced of a cleanable storm… You can’t thief but consciousness incredibly fortunate to person been location for it,” he told nan site.

Photographers astir nan globe snapped akin otherworldly sights.

In Ireland, Sryan Bruen caught nan bluish lights flickering supra Ballynafagh Church successful County Kildare. 

Over successful nan UK, astrophotographer Astro Ben posted on X a timelapse of nan aurora pirouetting supra his backyard.

Further northbound successful Scotland, Cat Perkinton marveled astatine nan “crazy scope of colours successful past night’s skies complete #Stirling.”

In Germany, nan celestial striptease made it down to 49 degrees latitude.

And it wasn’t conscionable nan Northern Hemisphere getting lit.

In nan Southern Hemisphere, an X personification shared a dazzling changeable of nan aurora australis, writing, “Aurora Australis 17/04/2025 84 % afloat satellite astatine nan zenith and nan Lady yet decided to bring retired nan showgirl… In existent style she outshone nan satellite and gave america each what we were location for—naked oculus beams and colour were an breathtaking finale.”

While nan large wind is winding down, NOAA says high-latitude auroras are still imaginable arsenic nan Kp scale lingers adjacent 4.33 complete nan adjacent 24 hours.