Originally thought to be a bridge used by gods to travel to Earth, what we now know as the northern lights, or aurora borealis, still appears no less mystical.
This week’s aurora stunned the hundreds of people who paid witness to the sky’s particularly colorful show.
The phenomenon, caused by the collision of electrons from Earth’s magnetosphere and gases in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, was especially vivid Wednesday night because of the position of the sun’s “coronal holes,” which are directing particles along the same latitude as Earth.
Britain's national weather service has predicted the lights will continue to be especially bright and visible over the next few weeks.
Additionally, although it's unclear why, it seems aurora borealis is more visible in autumn. Read more about the northern lights, and how they signify our planet's electric connection to the sun, here.
A particularly bright aurora has been seen as far south as Texas or Florida. Remember city lights can majorly detract from the clarity and brightness of the lights. This might just be the perfect excuse to take one of those notorious Texas road trips to one of our state's Dark Sky Parks.
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