Skies in parts of the northern U.S., Canada and Europe were dazzled with walls of green, pink and yellow this week.
The aurora borealis, otherwise known as the northern lights, have been seen due to a geometric activity, according to KSAT meteorologist Justin Horne.
“The Aurora borealis (and its southern counterpart aurora australis) is driven by activity on the sun... and the sun has been active!” Horne said. “Solar flares and subsequent coronal mass ejections trigger geomagnetic activity. Energized particles then hurtle toward Earth. The planet’s magnetic field redirects them to the poles and then the particles interact with gasses in the atmosphere to produce incredible colors!”
Videos posted on social media showed that people in Alaska and Washington were able to see the aurora.
“The Glacier Bay Lodge is empty and still, but the sky above is anything but ~ stunning aurora borealis filled our skies on Sunday night,” Glacier Bay National Park in Gustavus, Alaska said in a Tweet.
See a video posted by Glacier Bay National Park in the player above, and see a timelapse video from a resident in Spokane, Washington below.
In other videos posted online, the northern lights were seen in Scotland, Canada and Norway.
NOAA states that people do not have to be directly under the aurora borealis to see it. People can be as far as 1,000 kilometers, or more than 600 miles, away to see the aurora if it is bright and if the conditions are right.
It is not visible during daylight hours and is typically visible just after sunset or just before sunrise.
“For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to arctic regions just to observe. It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather,” NOAA states.
Check out more videos of the beautiful phenomenon below: