The Northern Lights are occurring frequently. Here is what to know:

By Audrey Coleman

Unusual, strong solar storms hit Earth Thursday, lighting up the sky in different shades of pinks, purples, greens, and blues. These displays were viewed from Germany, the United Kingdom, New England, and New York City. In May of 2024, similar solar storms hit and the northern hemisphere was lit with colors. This time, the view was farther south than normal.

According to Shawn Dahl, a space weather forecaster at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, there were light sightings as south as New Mexico.

“It was a pretty extensive display yet again,” said Dahl. “It’s been a wonderful year.”

The northern lights are caused when the sun sends energy and solar wind to Earth, alongside heat and light. In some instances, the solar wind turns into a storm, creating energy bursts called coronal mass ejections. The Earth’s magnetic field shields most of it, but some particles get through, interacting with gasses in the atmosphere. Blue and purple lights are caused by nitrogen and green and red lights are caused by oxygen.

The best view of the northern lights are away from city lights, within one or two hours before or after midnight, and when the date is close to a spring or fall equinox.

Recently, there has been an increase in northern lights appearances because solar activity is in the peak of an 11 year cycle. According to Dahl, solar maximum is around until early 2026, and more northern lights displays are expected to come.