Recent Sightings Recent sightings: Light show

Colorful bands of the Aurora Borealis, or “northern lights,” glow in the nighttime sky above Lake Mendota near Observatory Hill during a strong solar storm in the northern hemisphere at 12:49 a.m. on June 23. The solar storm, a phenomenon rarely visible this far south above the U.S., registered 8 on the Kp scale for planetary geomagnetic activity.

Photos by Jeff Miller

Northern lights glow above boats in Lake Mendota mooring field near the Memorial Union Terrace.