10 photos of the northern lights dazzling in the night sky across the US and Europe caused by massiv

2024-05-11T12:06:49Z

On Friday night, the northern lights put on a spectacular show for US and European stargazers.
The lights, Aurora Borealis, were triggered by a huge geomagnetic storm headed toward Earth.
High-energy particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field cause geomagnetic storms.

Skies over the US and Europe were transformed into shades of interstellar pink, purple, blue, and green Friday night as the northern lights produced a dazzling display.

Aurora Borealis lights were triggered after America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 as a huge geomagnetic storm headed toward Earth.

NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and the strongest level of a geomagnetic storm, brought with it the risk of affecting communications, GPS, and power grids.

Geomagnetic storms occur when high-energy particles from the sun reach Earth and interact with our magnetic field.

But the sun is 93 million miles away, so these particles have to get a major boost to reach us. That boost comes from solar storms.

Solar storms happen when the sun shoots powerful explosions of highly energized and magnetic plasma called coronal mass ejections toward Earth.

The lights were seen in the US as far south as El Paso, Texas, and across Europe in Germany, Spain, the UK, and Ukraine.

Here's a look at 10 of the best pictures captured by stargazers.

California

Northern lights illuminated the night sky along a highway north of San Francisco in Middletown, California, early `Saturday. JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images

Texas

Northern lights in El Paso, Texas. National Weather Service El Paso, TX

Illinois

Northern lights north of Bloomington, Illinois, near Hudson. National Weather Service Lincoln, IL

Louisiana

Northern lights in Shreveport, Louisiana. National Weather Service in Shreveport, LA

New York

Northern lights in Rochester, New York. Anadolu/Getty Images

Canada

Northern lights in Manning Park, British Columbia. Andrew Chin/Getty Images

Germany

Northern lights in the night sky above Wagenbrüchsee near Krün, Germany. picture alliance/Getty Images

United Kingdom

Northern lights in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jane Barlow - PA Images/Getty Images

Spain

Northern lights in Catalonia. Europa Press News/Getty Images

Ukraine

Northern lights in Kharkiv, Ukraine. NurPhoto/Getty Images

Correction: May 13, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated one of the image locations. The picture was from Shreveport, Louisiana, not Los Angeles.

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