Rare solar storm wows stargazers across America: 'So awesome!'
Historic geomagnetic storms made for a beautiful display in night skies across America on Friday night, with the aurora visible as far south as Florida.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, confirmed that the geomagnetic storms hit an "extreme" level 5 condition Friday. NOAA also reported that there is no sign of these historic storm conditions slowing down until Sunday.
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS OKLAHOMA, SOUTHERN KANSAS AT RISK OF TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
FOX Weather reported that the cause behind these storms is "a massive sunspot the width of 17 Earths." The scientific term to describe the phenomenon is known as a Coronal Mass Ejection or a CME.
A bird's-eye view of the aurora borealis above South Carolina from FOX Weather Storm Tracker Mark Sudduth. (Mark Sudduth via Fox Weather)
Viewers from across the nation from Washington to Missouri enjoyed the aurora display Friday. One social media user wrote, "I have ALWAYS wanted to go and see the northern lights! This is so awesome!"
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, NOAA Operations Chief Mike Bettwy remarked "This was certainly quite historic in many ways, because we had not only a lot of intense auroras, but it also happens pretty far south into low latitudes, which we don't normally see very often, even down to South Florida."
A photo of clouds parting before the northern lights from the NWS office in Caribou, Maine. (NWS via Fox Weather)
"There was pretty impressive displays all the way down to Fort Lauderdale, even parts of Puerto Rico. In fact, we got a report just moments ago about some sightings in Hawaii."
All hope is not lost for those who missed the Friday night lights; another display is predicted Sunday. Bettwy added, "We are expecting a resurgence in the storming later tomorrow and into tomorrow night. So the display tomorrow night could be as close."
"Quite close to what we saw last night as far as how widespread it is. The color show and how vibrant it is. Looks like it's going to be quite good again tomorrow night."
Photos from all over America shared with Fox News Digital showed the historic meteorological event, from Maine to Southern California.
The aurora borealis from Mukilteo, Wash., during a geomagnetic storm May 10, 2024. (Scott Sistek via Fox Weather)
Weather forecasters working from the NWS office outside Birmingham, Ala., saw the northern lights as well as the space station. (@NWSBirmingham via Fox Weather)
The northern lights were snapped outside Republic, Mo., by Katie Adams Long. (Katie Adams Long )
Gina McMurtrey took this picture of the night skies in Willard, Mo. (Gina McMurtrey)
Rachel Street took this vivid blue and pink aurora photo in Pierce City, Mo. (Rachel Street)
This photo of the extreme geomagnetic event Friday was taken in Waynesville, Mo., by Kayla Goodrich-Danielson. (Kayla Goodrich-Danielson)
Rainey Lathrop took this photo of the geomagnetic storm in Lebanon, Mo., May 10. (Rainey Lathrop)
Northern lights from Hastings, Neb., during a CME May 10. (NWS Hastings via Fox Weather)
Anthony Thai, a senior business systems analyst at FOX, spotted the northern lights outside the Mojave Desert in California. (Anthony Thai)
Luke Culver of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., caught the aurora borealis on display Friday, May 10. (Luke Culver via Fox Weather)
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