Auroras galore! powerful geomagnetic storm sparks stunning northern lights across US (photos)

A severe G4 geomagnetic storm causes extensive auroras, illuminating sky across the United States with spectacular northern lights displays.

Better late than never.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, which arrived 6 hours later than expected, caused a major geomagnetic storm on Earth.

On September 16, a CME struck about 7:41 p.m. EDT (2341 GMT), resulting in a spectacular northern lights display seen as far south as the Texas Panhandle.

On September 14, a massive X-class solar flare erupted, causing the CME. The X4.5 solar flare, which peaked at 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT), was the sixth greatest of the current cycle.

CMEs transport charged atoms, known as ions. Ions colliding with the Earth’s magnetosphere can cause geomagnetic storms, which are significant disturbances. During storms, ions interact with gases in Earth’s atmosphere, releasing energy as light. This light is known as the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Lights (aurora australis) in the Southern Hemisphere.

NOAA classifies geomagnetic storms based on their strength, ranging from G1 for minor storms to G5 for the most severe. NOAA issued an advisory for potential G3 conditions on Sept. 16, which were later replaced by more severe G4 circumstances about 10:57 p.m. EDT (0257 GMT on Sept. 17).

Aurora chasers across the United States enjoyed the powerful geomagnetic storm conditions that occurred yesterday night.

Dakota Snider captured a magnificent display in the skies above Kingman, Arizona, Friday night.

“The surprise of seeing red pillars with your naked eye, through an almost full moon, in Arizona last night had me so excited!” Snider told Space.com by email.

“This solar cycle has been incredible over the last year,” Snider explained.

On September 17, photographer Mert Alper Dervis recorded a beautiful display of northern lights above Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto, Ontario.

Aurora hunter Harlan Thomas recorded a stunning northern lights display from Highway 766 northeast of Calgary, Canada.

Thomas maintained a close check on space weather forecasts to exactly time this breathtaking photograph.

“I was able to capture a really nice pillar show by watching the solar wind data and using the GOES West magnetometer.” I believed I had about an hour after the Bz left to catch the aurora; my timing was nearly flawless.”Thomas posted on X.

Aurora chaser Rj Roldan captured a stunning aurora show in the skies above South Indian Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

“The skies over South Indian Lake, Manitoba, lit up with magnificent hues! Short but colorful show.” Roldan published a post on X.

Meteorologist Corbin Voges claimed a fleeting appearance of the northern lights as far south as the Texas Panhandle in a post on X.

“It didn’t last very long, but I can confirm that the #NorthernLights made a brief appearance in the Texas Panhandle just before 10:30PM CDT,” Voges said.

Tyler K, a space weather enthusiast, posted photos of auroras south of Decatur, Texas.

“Texas is checking in! Just south of Decatur, TX.

The magnificent light spectacle overshadowed the almost completely lighted Harvest Moon.

“The moonlight could not stop her from dancing. “Aurora in Northern Ohio!!” Tyler Hofelich published a post on X.

Jeff Baurs, a photographer, posted a stunning photo of a transient aurora show above Delton, Michigan, U.S.

“The Northern Lights put on a good show for about 10 minutes, despite the almost full moon drowning most of it out,” according to Baurs.

“Could see faint red with the naked eye for a few minutes.”