Space Weather News:

"One of the most powerful solar flares ever recorded erupted this morning near giant sunspot 486. The explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward Earth. Bright auroras could appear when the fast-moving cloud sweeps past our planet--perhaps as early as tonight. High latitude sites such as New Zealand, Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada and US northern border states from Maine to Washington are favored, as usual, but auroras could descend to lower latitudes, too"

After a series of major X flares (large explosions) and Coronal Mass Ejections on the sun spectaculair aurora displays were seen on 29 and 30 october 2003. On 29 october Ermelo was clouded out, but there was a short 20 minute period of clear skies of wich I could take some pictures from the Groevenbeekse Heide (a moor) near Ermelo, The Netherlands.