Skygazers across the South caught a rare glimpse of the northern lights Thursday night—a dazzling display that made it as far down as Florida for the second time this year. The aurora borealis, which typically graces skies in far northern latitudes, stretched much farther south than usual thanks to a coronal mass ejection from the sun earlier this week.
Here’s the science: that solar eruption sent a surge of charged particles straight into Earth’s magnetosphere, stirring things up enough to push the northern lights over parts of the Southeast.
On Thursday night, activity reached G4, or “severe,” on the geomagnetic storm scale, lighting up skies in areas not accustomed to such a show. However, forecasters predict a downgrade in activity to G1-G3, or “minor to strong” levels, by tonight. That means folks in the northern U.S. may get another show, but for most of the South, it’s not likely.
For those hoping to catch even a faint shimmer tonight, the best bet is to head far from city lights. A longer exposure setting on your camera could help capture any colors that are too faint for the naked eye.
For tonight, though, it looks like Mother Nature’s light show is moving back north, leaving those of us in the South to keep an eye out for the next solar flare.
