"WEAK" CME IMPACT SPARKS AURORAS: An unexpected CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 1st at 18:54 UTC, causing a 10 nanoTesla jolt in magnetometer readings from Canberra, Australia. This is considered to be a weak impact. Nevertheless, it was enough to spark auroras around the Arctic Circle:

https://imgur.com/R2dzpzK

"What an amazing night!!!" says Marianne Bergli, who photographed the display from Storfjord, Norway. "It looked like a green serpent was dancing around the Moon."

The instigating CME may have been one of many CMEs that left the sun in recent days but which, initially, did not appear to be Earth directed. When multiple CMEs overlap in coronagraph images, it can be difficult to sort out their individual trajectories. As a result of such confusion, more minor impacts are possible in the days ahead.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]