Why the Aurora Borealis was visible so far south and why we might see it again

Were you able to see the Northern Lights on Thursday evening?

A geomagnetic storm on Thursday, October 10th allowed most of Tennessee to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis. It was predicted that the Northern Lights would only be visible from states further north, but many Tennesseans were able to catch a glimpse of the light spectacle.

That's why they lit up the skies over Tennessee. Scroll down to see photos from across the state.

Why were the Northern Lights visible so far south?

A geomagnetic storm is a coronal mass ejection. These are large ejections of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona. These geomagnetic storms can create the Aurora Borealis effect and impact satellites and our power grids.

The Northern Lights are visible due to the particles released by solar flares striking the Earth's magnetic field from the Sun. The colored glow we see are the particles interacting with atmospheric gas molecules.

Even if you didn't get a chance to see them on Thursday, there's a chance we'll see them again in the next year or so, as solar maximum, or the next peak in solar activity, will be reached in July 2025.

Northern Lights in Knoxville

Northern Lights in Memphis

Northern Lights in Nashville

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: Northern Lights in Tennessee: Why They Were Visible So Far South