Northern glow appears over Iceland and eastern Canada during February storms

Satellite images from the Suomi NPP VIIRS instrument captured auroral ribbons over Iceland and parts of eastern Canada on Feb. 16 during a G1 geomagnetic storm that later reached G2, and NASA sounding rockets earlier in February collected data intended for 3D reconstructions of auroral electrical currents.

Satellite images and recent research describe auroral activity over northern regions in mid-February 2026. The VIIRS day-night band on the Suomi NPP satellite recorded ribbons of light over the Denmark Strait and Iceland and later over eastern Canada on Feb. 16. NOAA reported a G1 geomagnetic storm at the time that then intensified to G2 later that day. About a week earlier, NASA launched two sounding rockets from Poker Flat to study the electrical environment of the aurora. Observed details: - VIIRS captured auroral ribbons over the Denmark Strait and Iceland at 04:45 UTC and over Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador at about 06:30 UTC. - The VIIRS day-night band detects nighttime light across wavelengths from green to near-infrared; the satellite images are shown in grayscale while auroras appear in colors such as green, purple, and red to ground observers. - NOAA classified the event as a G1 geomagnetic storm during the satellite observations; conditions later intensified to G2, linked to a coronal hole and a high-speed solar wind stream. - On Feb. 10, the GNEISS mission launched two sounding rockets from Poker Flat Research Range to gather data for reconstructing the electrical currents associated with auroras. Summary: The VIIRS images and NOAA reports document auroral displays over Iceland and eastern Canada tied to a geomagnetic disturbance that moved from G1 to G2 strength. Data from the GNEISS rockets, combined with ground and space observations, will be used to build 3D reconstructions of the electrical currents that flow with the northern lights. Researchers expect these combined datasets to improve understanding of the near-Earth system that drives space weather.