Red and green Northern Lights have been seen across the US and around the world from regions that are rarely seen after one of the most powerful geomagnetic storms in the past two decades.

Here are some of the best photos of this rare and spectacular Northern Lights event from around the world:

Every US state except Hawaii saw a glimpse of an aurora borealis display from Thursday, October 11 through Friday, October 12, while all of Europe – as far south as Turkey – and China also witnessed the event.

With the storm still ongoing in the US, those with clear skies should get outside. Be patient; Substorms are forecast for the rest of the night. Keep an eye on NOAA’s Aurora Dashboard, especially for the 30-minute forecast and the X account.

A G4 (severe) and possibly even more powerful geomagnetic storm occurred after a particularly fast-moving coronal mass ejection – a cloud of charged particles from the Sun – erupted from the Sun on October 8 in the wake of the world’s strongest solar flare. current solar cycle.

That CME was moving at a speed of 4.5 million kilometers per hour, according to NOAA. “It’s the fastest CME we’ve measured so far in this solar cycle,” Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, said during a news conference Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a forecast for a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm for both Thursday and Friday, although the latest forecast is for the aurora not to be visible at low latitudes until the early hours of Friday, October 11.

That proved correct, with displays of aurora – including huge red pillars – waxing and waning throughout the night, varying in intensity and sometimes reaching severe storm conditions.

The CME struck Earth at 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT), disrupting Earth’s magnetic field and quickly reaching G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm conditions at 12:57 a.m. EDT (1657 GMT), according to NOAA.

NOAA warned on October 10 that upcoming severe geomagnetic storm conditions will disrupt satellite communications, power grids and GPS services, potentially impacting ongoing recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Although G4 storms can generally be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California, at least a faint photographic aurora was visible from most US states.

The displays caused a spike in the Kp index, which indicates the level of geomagnetic activity around Earth. During the night it reached Kp 9 – the highest available – which NOAA defines as aurora moving towards the equator where it becomes very bright and active.

“These are the events that create the best auroras, and the extended auroral oval will be visible to most people,” NOAA’s website says. “At these levels the aurora can be seen directly overhead from the northern states of the US”

Geomagnetic activity has been at its strongest over the past two decades because the Sun is close to a particularly intense ‘solar maximum’ – the peak of its eleven-year solar cycle – and also close to the equinox, when the Earth’s axis is sideways to the Sun. .

According to the latest forecast from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, the sun will reach solar maximum between August 2024 and January 2025, although NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and NASA announced on Tuesday, October 8 that a media teleconference will take place on Tuesday, October 15 to monitor the activity of the sun and the progress of solar cycle 25.

More frequent and powerful geomagnetic storms are expected to occur until 2026, leading to intense and widely observable Northern Lights.

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.