Spectacular photos show the northern lights around the world

May 12, 2024
3 mins read
Spectacular photos show the northern lights around the world


Solar storm causes dazzling Northern Lights spectacle


Powerful Solar Storm Sparks Stunning Northern Lights Display Around the World

02:04

A series of powerful solar storms colorful skies across the Northern Hemisphere this weekend as people witnessed brilliant displays of the northern lights in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and beyond. Officials said the dazzling light shows could continue for a few more days.

O Northern Lights – the phenomenon more commonly known as the aurora borealis – occurs because of a molecular collision in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere that causes the release of explosions of energy in the form of visible light. The aurora borealis has a counterpart, the aurora australis, or northern lights, which is the same phenomenon in the southern hemisphere. These light shows can be visible for half the year in certain locations close to either of the planet’s two poles, but it is uncommon to see them in areas closer to the equator, which is why shows about North AmericaEurope and other places at similar latitudes have been a great pleasure these past few days.

The aurora will extend from the poles toward the equator during periods of intense space weather activity, and has been known in the past to reach as far as the continental United States when the activity is particularly extreme. That’s what happened over the weekend, when an unusually strong geomagnetic storm hit Earth and set the stage for a series of explosive night scenes around the world. The geomagnetic storm that arrived on Friday was a historic G5the highest level on a rating scale that starts at G1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A solar storm of this size has not made contact with Earth in decades. It arrived amid a parade of coronal mass ejections — eruptions of magnetic field and other solar material from the solar corona that can cause geomagnetic storms — that continued to fuel the northern lights shows throughout Friday and Saturday. The next bursts of solar material are expected to reach Earth Sunday noonaccording to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which has issued a geomagnetic storm warning in anticipation of G4 or G5 events likely following upcoming coronal mass ejections.

“Clocks at this level are very rare,” the Space Weather Prediction Center said in a statement Saturday. He noted that approaching solar activity could potentially cause the aurora “to become visible across much of the northern half of the country, and perhaps as far south as Alabama to northern California.”

Ahead of the next round of solar flares, here are some bright auroras that have materialized so far this weekend in different parts of the world.

Northern Lights Idaho
The Northern Lights fill the sky at Bogus Basin Ski Resort on Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Boise, Idaho.

Kyle Verde/AP


Aurora Borealis Missouri
A communications tower is silhouetted against the northern lights on Saturday, May 11, 2024, near St. Louis.

Charles Riedel/AP


Aurora Borealis Michigan
The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is visible over Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the morning of Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Dee-Ann Durbin/AP


Northern Lights Photo Gallery
The Northern Lights shine in the sky over a farmhouse on the evening of Friday, May 10, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine.

Robert F. Bukaty/AP


Aurora Borealis Minnesota
The Northern Lights shine in the sky near Kroschel, Minnesota, on the evening of Friday, May 10, 2024.

Owen Caputo Sullivan/AP


Oregon Solar Storm
In this image taken with long exposure, the aurora borealis is seen in the sky on Friday, May 10, 2024, in Estacada, Oregon.

Jenny Kane/AP


Northern Lights Texas
The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are seen in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 10, 2024.

Julio Cortez/AP


Aurora Borealis Washington
The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are visible over Lake Washington in Renton, Washington on the evening of Friday, May 10, 2024.

Lindsey Wasson-AP


The aurora borealis, also known as
The Northern Lights over Jericho Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on May 10, 2024.

Chris Helgren/REUTERS


The Northern Lights, also known as the 'Northern Lights', are seen over The Roaches near Leek
The Northern Lights are seen over The Roaches near Leek, Staffordshire, Great Britain, on May 10, 2024.

Carl Recine/REUTERS


Aurora Borealis seen over the lake near Szczytno, Poland
The Northern Lights are seen over the lake near Szczytno, Poland, on May 10, 2024.

Kacper Pempel/REUTERS


Auroras, caused by a coronal mass ejection on the Sun, light up the skies over the Omsk region
The Northern Lights light up the skies over the southwestern Siberian city of Tara in Russia’s Omsk region on May 11, 2024.

Alexei Malgavko/REUTERS


Aurora Borealis lights up the sky across China in geomagnetic storm
The Northern Lights shine in the skies over China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on May 11, 2024.

VCG/VCG via Getty Images






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