Aurora clashes with Perseid meteor shower Sunday night

The northern lights stole the spotlight on Sunday night as people who were planning to watch the Perseid meteor shower witnessed a dazzling display of the aurora.

Stargazers who stayed up late Sunday night to watch the best meteor shower of 2024 were treated to a celestial surprise when the aurora borealis burst to life in the sky over North America.

People as far south as Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arizona reported sightings of the northern lights, as did people across northern Europe. In some areas, the aurora was no more than a faint glow above the horizon, but cameras were able to capture the sights in much greater detail.

The northern lights were caused by a cloud of charged particles from the sun that bombarded the Earth, which ended up being stronger than NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center predicted. Early Tuesday morning, it became a "strong" geomagnetic storm, or a level 3 out of 5, and eventually reached "severe," or a level 4 out of 5, by 11 a.m. EDT. It was not nearly as impressive as the aurora outbreak from May, which was a 5 out of 5 on NOAA's scale.

Coincidentally, the event occurred on the peak night of the Perseids, the best meteor shower of the year that boasts over 60 meteors per hour. Photographers who were planning to stay up late to snap pictures of shooting stars were treated with magnificent scenes of red, pink and green colors, as well as a flurry of meteors.

Will the northern lights be visible Monday night?

The northern lights are not expected to be as bright or as widespread on Monday night into Tuesday morning, but the Perseids will continue to impress with dozens of meteors per hour.