Northern Lights visible in dozens of states, including Arizona
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An intense solar storm has the northern lights gracing the skies farther south than usual.
A blast of superhot material from the sun late last week hurled scorching gases known as plasma toward Earth at nearly 2 million mph, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on April 24.
Earth felt the brunt of the storm Sunday, according to NOAA, with forecasters warning operators of power plants and spacecraft of the potential for disruption.
Auroras were reported across parts of Europe and Asia. In the U.S., skygazers took in the sights from Wisconsin, Colorado, California, New Mexico and even Arizona — mostly a reddish glow instead of the typical green shimmer.
"I don’t want any expectations of these green curtains moving back and forth" so far south, said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Although conditions have eased, auroras might still be visible as far south as South Dakota and Iowa late Monday and early Tuesday if skies are dark.
The farther north, the better the show as the energized particles interact with the atmosphere closer to Earth, according to Murtagh. The farther south, the curvature of the Earth cuts off the most dazzling scenes as the particles interact higher in the atmosphere.
Murtagh said light pollution in Boulder prevented him from seeing the auroras Sunday night. But there could be more opportunities as the solar cycle ramps up.
"Stay tuned, more to come," he said.
This was the third severe geomagnetic storm since the current 11-year solar cycle began in 2019, according to NOAA. The agency expects the cycle to peak in 2024.
For those down under, the southern lights should provide equally good shows, Murtagh said.
Robert Ray, a professional photographer in Eager, Arizona, captured pictures from his backyard.
"I yelped for joy," he said. "It was a bucket list for me to be able to photograph the Northern Lights. I always thought to photograph them I'd have to travel to the north – Iceland, Canada. Never did I think I'd be able to capture them here in Arizona.
Stacy Colavito from Queen Creek also didn't expect to see lights. In fact, last month, the Colavitos headed to Fairbanks, Alaska seeking the northern lights and captured colorful pics of the auroras from there.
While in Alaska, Sandy, a self-proclaimed science geek, learned how to read solar data to tell if conditions were good for auroras to appear where you are.
A Facebook group and an app indicated the solar event would impact Arizona Sunday night
"I thought if these hold steady when it gets dark here in Arizona, I think were going to be able to see them here," she said.
She and her husband headed to Apache Junction and low and behold, the auroras appeared around 8 p.m. Sunday night.
"It was truly a jawdropping moment," Colavito said.