The Northern Lights dazzle in more than half a dozen states: New York, Minnesota, Arkansas
People living in at least half a dozen states were able to see the shimmering and startling display of the Northern Lights between Thursday and Friday.
Individuals in Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota and New York took to social media to show off the beautiful, multicolored glow of the Northern Lights.
The National Weather Service confirmed that more than half a dozen states along the northern part of the United States could see the stunning display of lights, visible to the naked eye.
The Northern Lights forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center cited “stronger than expected” influences and issued a geomagnetic storm watch through Saturday.
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The watch is in effect until Saturday but is expected to peak on Friday, March 24. At its peak, residents as far north as Maine may be able to catch a glimpse of the spectacular lights.
“The Northern Lights are dancing across Upper Michigan tonight!” the National Weather Service office in Marquette, Michigan said in a Twitter post.
Dakota Snider told Fox News Digital he was on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona when he saw the “faint glow” of the lights.
“I took a photo from the iPhone to see if it was, and it showed up on the iPhone, so I pulled out my real camera.” Snider told Fox News Digital. “Everyone was sleeping on the plane, except the flight attendants who were delighted to see such a rare event so far south!”
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Snider shared the stunning images of the Northern Lights as he flew to Phoenix, Arizona. He used his Cannon Eos 5d Mark iii to photograph the pink neon lights below.
Annie Scott Riley was on a late return flight from New York to Minnepolis, Minnesota when she captured the Northern Lights at 30,000 feet.
Riley shared on Twitter that she captured the image when she was about an hour away from landing in Minnesota.
Waves of light are caused by the sun. While the sun sends out energy and small particles, the Earth is protected by its magnetic field. Some outings are stronger than others, especially solar storms.
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When the solar storm is heading towards earth, some of the energy and small particles can travel along magnetic field lines at the north and south poles in the Earth’s atmosphere. There, the particles interact with the gases in the atmosphere, creating plays of light.
Oxygen emits green and red light, and NASA says nitrogen glows blue and purple.
Aurora is named after the Roman goddess of dawn. While the northern lights occur to the north, the south pole sees the aurora australis, or aurora australis.
Fox News’ Julia Musto contributed to this report.
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