Aurora Borealis photos: Solar storm brings northern lights as far south as Texas

Oct 14, 2024

A severe geomagnetic storm brought spectacular light displays to many parts of the United States on Thursday night, with skies as far south as San Antonio bathed in rich hues of magenta and green.

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights as they are commonly known, are often more visible in Earth's polar regions, but due to heightened solar activity these dancing displays could be seen with the naked eye in numerous southern states.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm was ranked 4 out of 5 in severity, allowing for more widespread illuminations across night skies, particularly across Europe.

However in Lubbock, Texas, the National Weather Service shared this image of stunning purple and pink skies over a quiet highway, writing "WOW! The Aurora Borealis is putting on quite the show across West Texas tonight." Further north, auroras were spotted over Queens, N.Y., in an unusually colorful light display for such a densely populated area.

The timing of the strong solar activity brought the spectacle to many other regions of the world, with photographers sharing images from England to China, and even Australia, where the phenomenon known as Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, was captured in Fish Creek, near Melbourne.

Auroras appeared to rain down over pumpjacks in Alberta, Canada last night.

Skies burst with red and green behind a windmill in Buckinghamshire, England.

Lights showered a spectacular array of colors over the Kissing Trees in Kinghorn, Scotland early on Friday.

A haze of silhouettes as photographers gather to capture the green skies over Shenandoah National Park in Rileyville, Va.

Police officers in New Milford, Connecticut shared this image of a vibrant sky bursting with pink and magenta tones outside their station last night.

The Northern Lights, weakened though still visible, were spotted behind an observation tower in New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio. Visible solar activity is significantly less common in more southern regions of the U.S.

Illuminations could be seen over the Jinshanling Great Wall in China's Hebei Province on Friday morning.

A parked car beneath the stunning night sky in Monroe, Wis.

A glowing red Kyiv was visible, as even the city lights did not manage to dampen the skies over the Ukrainian capital.

Lights also trailed from traffic as fiery skies danced overhead in Brandenburg, Germany late Thursday.

Max Butterworth is a Photo Editor for NBC News based in London.