Northern Lights Light Up Sky Amid Powerful Geomagnetic Storm

Millions of Americans were able to see the magical glow of the Northern Lights Friday evening when a powerful geomagnetic storm reaches Earth.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Northern Lights, should be visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California. People have reported seeing the lights as far south as Florida and Oklahoma.

Some areas, like New York City, were affected by cloud cover and were unable to witness this spectacular spectacle, but the phenomenon is expected to last through the weekend and possibly into next week. Experts said the Northern Lights will likely be visible in parts of the United States on Saturday evening, with the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights between 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday.

“Aurora occurs when we get energetic particles that have left the sun in larger quantities than usual and interact with the Earth’s magnetic barrier,” explained Shawn Dahl, senior space weather forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to CBS News.

The geomagnetic storm reached Earth Friday evening G5 “extreme”, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic storms are classified from G1 to G5.

“This one is pretty big, I think it’s pretty extreme, we’ve gotten to G5, which is the highest in terms of strength,” said Dr. Nour Rawafi, an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. .

This is the first G5 geomagnetic storm to reach Earth since October 2003. A G5 storm is so large that it can disrupt the satellites we rely on for communications and GPS. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites reported “degraded service”.

Dahl explains that a G5 storm can potentially disrupt the GPS we use on our phones.

“It’s possible because most of our phones are single-frequency GPS systems,” Dahl said.

The Northern Lights have the ability to impact power grids and cause power outages. In 2003, storm G5 caused power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa, according to NOAA. This year, however, utility companies have taken precautions.

“It seems that this time some measures have been taken, and we have avoided them so far,” Rawafi said.

Photos of the Northern Lights

Photographers and videographers across the country have captured images showing the Northern Lights streaking the sky in shades of blue, green and even purple.

The Northern Lights could also be photographed from the air, with photos of the phenomenon from airplane windows circulating on social media.

Even in places where the Northern Lights could only be faintly visible to the naked eye, the photographs captured stunning detail.

Northern Lights forecast for the rest of the weekend

If you missed the Northern Lights on Friday evening, there are still some chances to observe the phenomenon again. The geomagnetic storm is expected to last through the weekend.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center released a forecast map for Saturday evening suggesting the lights would be visible in parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and more.

Although lights will be more limited, don’t despair if your area isn’t lit on the map. It is possible to view the Northern Lights from up to 620 miles away, according to the National Weather Service. And remember, a camera can help capture details that the naked eye might otherwise miss.

What is the best way to see the Northern Lights?

The St. Louis office of the National Weather Service said people wanting to view the northern lights should move away from light pollution and cloud cover.

“Move away from city lights to a dark, rural environment and look north,” the office says. said on social media Friday morning.

The Northern Lights around the world

The United States wasn’t the only place to witness incredible light shows on Friday. In the United Kingdom, the phenomenon has been observed as far away as London and the south of England.

In some areas of Germany, the entire sky sometimes seemed lit pink.

Other incredible images showed Austria’s skies lit up in blue, green and pink, with stunning photos capturing them above the country’s mountains.

— Michael George contributed to this report.