Rare Northern Lights, Meteor Shower Combo Dazzles Over Russia

Skywatchers across Russia were treated to a rare overnight spectacle as the northern lights coincided with a meteor shower.
The stunning display was visible from the western Pskov region and the southwestern Voronezh region to the Tyumen and Irkutsk regions in the Ural Mountains and Siberia.
Images capturing the vibrant scarlet and green auroras, along with streaking meteors, were shared on the regional Telegram news channel Govorit NeMoskva.
The rare celestial event was also observed in Ukraine, Belarus and Estonia.
The Perseid meteor shower, an annual event caused by Earth passing through debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, was expected to peak around Aug. 11-12.
The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are caused by geomagnetic disturbances, which the Russian Academy of Sciences’ solar astronomy laboratory reported have been active since Sunday. These displays are challenging to predict and occur only under specific conditions.
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