The skies across the Northern Hemisphere were filled with stunning displays of color late Friday and into Saturday as an unusually strong solar storm hit Earth.
The skies across the Northern Hemisphere were filled with stunning displays of color late Friday and into Saturday as an unusually strong solar storm hit Earth.
The Northern Lights — also known as the aurora borealis — are a common occurrence near the northern polar region but seldom visible in lower latitudes of the Earth's surface. The bands of color are the result of a powerful solar storm brewing 93 million miles out in space.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a G5 coronal mass ejection on the sun's surface — think the space equivalent of Category 5 hurricane — will bombard the Earth with such intensity that the aurora will be visible throughout most of the United States. Fortunately for us humans, our atmosphere should protect the planet from any devastating effects, although experts say the solar storm could potentially impact communications and other electronic equipment.
In case you missed it, you'll likely have another chance to see the Northern Lights on Saturday night from around 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., depending on weather conditions. The lights are visible to the naked eye, although viewing is best away from urban light pollution.
If you didn't get a chance to see the northern lights overnight, you may still have another opportunity. On Saturday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center shared that extreme conditions had been observed again and expected storms of varying intensity to continue at least through Sunday.
Although the lights weren't always visible to the naked eye in the Bay Area, plenty of people put their phones or cameras to good use to get some breathtaking pictures of the rare sight.
NOAA's prediction noted that aurora had been visible overnight Friday and that, weather permitting, they might be visible again Saturday night.
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Bay City News contributed to this report.
