North America was dazzled by a rare display of Northern Lights.
The skies over North America were streaked with stunning hues of pink, purple, and green during a rare display of Northern Lights that lasted throughout the night.
According to weather officials, the aurora was visible from as far south as Arizona and as far north as Canada, as well as from California to New York, making it a fairly unusual event.
The geomagnetic storm responsible for the spectacle was classified as a G4, which is the second-highest rating for storm strength, with a G5 being the strongest.
Although a less severe storm is expected this weekend, this particular event was truly remarkable.
Northern Lights phenomenon experienced last night was due to “several eruptions on the sun”, which released high energy particles that collided with Earth’s atmosphere “like a big magnet getting shot out of the sun”.
An event like this will happen about 50 times every solar cycle, which is 11 years. But this was the most severe geomagnetic storm in almost six years.
During the period of solar minimum, when solar activity is reduced, geomagnetic storms of lesser intensity are more likely to occur, and they are usually observed in the northern states such as New England and along the Canadian border,