A solar storm revealed the magical illumination of the Northern Lights across the United States on Thursday night as the celestial event hit Earth.
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are a display of natural light in the night sky most commonly seen in the aurora zone, a region within 1,550 miles of the North Pole.
The phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the sun collide directly with the Earth’s magnetic field. The reaction transforms the dark sky into one that glows vibrantly with swirling curtains of colored lights, including green, pink, red, yellow, blue and violet.
Normally, the lights can only be seen in areas such as Scandinavia, Alaska and Iceland. But the timing of Thursday’s solar storm provided a beautiful spectacle not only for Europe, but also for those in North America.
The northern lights were seen in Key Largo, Florida, on Thursday night.
An X user captured the Northern Lights in front of the Capitol building in Washington DC
New York City caught a glimpse of the patch of color in the night sky.
On social media, people as far south as Washington DC and Kentucky were also able to witness neon pink and hazy purple skies, The New York Times reported.
“I’m surprised that it took me my whole life to see it,” Gabriela Aguilar, a 37-year-old New Yorker, told The New York Times.
When she climbed to the roof of her Harlem apartment building with her dog, she could see the sky turn pink, purple, and green.
‘And, of all places, see it in New York City!’ he added.
The light show began with a solar storm: a sudden explosion of particles, energy, magnetic gels and material thrown into the solar system by the sun. POT reported.
Earth’s protective magnetic bubble was temporarily disrupted and the rapid ejecta hit the planet at nearly 1.5 million mph. Washington Post reported.
The Northern Lights were captured in Lexington, Kentucky after the severe solar storm
A shade of purple and green light curtains was captured in Zimmerman, Minnesota.
People in Salida, Colorado, were able to witness the pink and purple sky after the solar storm.
When solar particles interact with gases found in Earth’s atmosphere, such as nitrogen and oxygen atoms, colorful lights are released into the twilight sky.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classified the recent storm as “severe,” with a four out of five for severity.
If the storm were to reach a level of “extreme severity” – a level that has only been seen twice in the last two decades – the spectacle could be seen with the naked eye as far south as Florida.
The storm could continue into Friday morning, but its intensity is expected to weaken and fall to “strong” or even “moderate” levels.
The storm, or coronal mass ejection, brings an influx of energy and particles when it hits Earth.
The event could potentially disrupt power, GPS and communications systems, the New York City Department of Emergency Management stated in a post on X.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classified the recent storm as “severe,” with a four out of five for severity.
The storm could continue into Friday morning, but its intensity is expected to weaken and fall to “strong” or even “moderate” levels.
Norway is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights because it is located in the heart of the aurora zone in the Norwegian Arctic.
But despite the disruptions, the department suggested there was no real need for New Yorkers to worry.
The solar storm hit Earth about 14 hours after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night, potentially affecting some recovery efforts.
Emergency responses, including communication systems that rely on low-Earth orbit satellites or high-frequency communications, pose the risk of disrupting power grids that have already been weakened by hurricanes and further disrupting navigation systems, he added. The Washington Post.
In previous severe solar storms, planes were diverted due to interference with radio signals. Some GPS systems lost accuracy. The satellites were put into safe mode and successfully deorbited.
But NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has already contacted several state agencies involved in recovery operations.
Either way, thousands of Americans were able to witness what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Northern Lights.
People rushed to X to share photos of their vision of this rare event.
The photos were taken in dozens of states across the country and each looked slightly different, but no less beautiful, than the last.