Spring is here, beckoning the promise of spring break, Easter, and vacations. But for those who live in the right places, spring also means the coming of the beautiful Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis. Why is it that they occur more often during springtime? Check out the full article to get an idea why.

It looks like people will finally be able to appreciate the beautiful Northern Lights, normally seen at night, even during the daytime thanks to the help of NASA's Polar satellite. Under the special ultraviolet filter provided by the satellite, scientists can take a look at the unusual substorm activity noted in Earth's magnetosphere. More details of this study can be found in the our full article.

Although it is a beautiful sight to behold up in Alaska and Canada, little is still known about the northern lights. But with NASA having launched the THEMIS fleet eight months ago with the sole purpose of gathering more information on this phenomena, man is slowly beginning to understand the spectacular occurrence.

More details about THEMIS' findings after the jump.

  

Tsunamis seem to be one phenomenon our planet shares with the mighty Sun. Scientists have reportedly spotted a major flare earlier this week using a prototype of a new solar telescope in New Mexico.

Formerly identified as a Moreton wave, the spotted tsunami-like shockwave "rolled across the hot surface, destroying two visible filaments of cool gas on opposite sides of the visible face of the Sun."

According to K.S. Balasubramaniam of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM, while these large scale 'blast' waves happen infrequently, they are undoubtedly powerful. "They quickly propagate in a matter of minutes covering the whole Sun, sweeping away filamentary material."

The captured 'tsunami' occurred like the splash form a rock thrown into a pond. Scientists saw this as a brightening from compressed and heated hydrogen gas. The two filaments that disappeared for a few minutes cannot be accounted for by the scientists if they were indeed blown off or were just compressed, hence the temporary invisibility.

Skywatchers in Alaska, Canada and the very northernmost United States are encouraged to stick their heads out this weekend for colorful Northern Lights. Apparently, there seems to be a stormy space season going on up there. There is a 40% chance of more major flares through this weekend, in fact, says forecasters.