What's behind the Northern Lights that blinded the sky further south than normal?

Another in a series of unusual ones strong solar storms The impact with Earth produced stunning skies full of pinks, purples, greens and blues further south than normal, including parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City.

“It was, once again, a pretty comprehensive display,” said Shawn Dahl, space weather forecaster at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. He said the center has received reports of northern lights sightings as far south as New Mexico. “It was a wonderful year.”

There were no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications.

NOAA issued a difficult decision Geomagnetic storm warning on Wednesday after after one Eruption of the sun was discovered earlier this week. Such a storm increases the likelihood of aurora borealis – also known as the Northern Lights – and can temporarily disrupt power and radio signals.

NOAA's Forecast for Friday continues to show above average activity, but chances for another overnight show are slim further south of Canada and in the northern Plains states.

What causes Northern Lights?

The sun sends more than just heat and light to Earth – it sends energy and charged particles called the solar wind. But sometimes that solar wind turns into a storm. The Sun's outer atmosphere occasionally “belches” huge bursts of energy, called coronal mass ejections. According to NOAA, they create solar storms, also called geomagnetic storms.

Earth's magnetic field shields us from much of it, but particles can travel into Earth's atmosphere along magnetic field lines along the north and south poles.

When the particles interact with the gases in our atmosphere, they can produce light – blue and violet from nitrogen, green and red from oxygen.

Dahl said this storm produced a particularly vivid image when it hit because the orientation of the storm's magnetism matched well with Earth's. “We stayed well connected,” he said.

Why have there been so many solar storms recently?

According to astronomers, solar activity waxes and wanes in a cycle that lasts about 11 years. The Sun appears to be near the peak of this cycle, known as solar maximum.

In May, the sun emitted its largest ray of sunshine in nearly two decades. This came days after severe solar storms devastated the Earth, triggering auroras in unfamiliar places across the Northern Hemisphere.

There are probably more to come. Dahl said we remain “in the grip” of the solar maximum and it probably won't start fading until early 2026.

“We’re going to have more of the experiences we had last night,” he said.

What is the best way to see the Northern Lights?

NOAA advises those who want to see the northern lights to stay away from city lights.

The best viewing time is typically one to two hours before or after midnight, and the agency says the best opportunities are around the spring and fall equinoxes because the solar wind interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.

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