Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley.
Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images
Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley.
Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images
The largest geomagnetic storm in nearly two decades is hitting earth’s atmosphere. It’s producing a beautiful glow in the sky all over the world.
A sunspot has sent a stream of charged particles towards earth.
As those particles hit the earth’s atmosphere they will be heated and start glowing producing beautiful aurora.
Lisa Upton is with the Southwest Research Institute. Social media is already filling with photos from places like Finland, Russia, Germany and New Zealand, which catches the same effect in the southern hemisphere. It’s not clear how far down in the U.S. the aurora will spread, but Upton is keeping an eye out in Colorado.
Space weather forecasters expect the solar storm to peak overnight, but it will last throughout the weekend.
Brunswick, Maine: The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Brunswick, Maine: The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Brandenburg, Germany: Light green and slightly reddish auroras glow in the night sky.
Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Brandenburg, Germany: Light green and slightly reddish auroras glow in the night sky.
Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Whitley Bay, England: People visit St Mary’s lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Saxony-Anhalt, Schierke, Germany: Northern lights can be seen from the Brocken. The natural spectacle is particularly intense on Saturday night.
Matthias Bein/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Matthias Bein/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Hesse, Germany: Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse.
Lando Hass/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Lando Hass/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
London, Ontario: Northern lights or aurora borealis illuminate the night sky near London, Ontario, during a geomagnetic storm on May 10, 2024.
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
Debrad, Slovakia: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Debrad, Slovakia, May 11, 2024.
Robert Nemeti/Anadolu/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Robert Nemeti/Anadolu/Getty Images
Eindhoven, Ukraine: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Eindhoven, Ukraine, May 10, 2024.
Nikos Oikonomou/Anadolu/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Nikos Oikonomou/Anadolu/Getty Images
Liseleje, Denmark: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Liseleje, Denmark on May 11, 2024.
Mohamed El-Shemy/Anadolu/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Mohamed El-Shemy/Anadolu/Getty Images