Rare Northern Lights in DC area could come back soon

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — It was a show Thursday night as the skies over D.C. displayed a radiant spray of pinks, purples and greens from the Northern Lights .

Because it’s such a rare treat to see the auroras so far south, it was a special moment and the talk of the town.

“I didn’t really know what was happening at first,” Quinn Walker said.

What Walker saw is typically referred to as the Northern Lights, but it was seen this week much farther South.

“Started seeing, like, the pink and blue, right up over the city, which was amazing,” Walker said.

But not everyone got a glimpse of the show.

“I have friends in Maryland that were posting pictures or sending me pictures and I was like ‘woof.’ Wish I had stayed up late last night but I went to bed early. I missed out,” said Bob McDonald. “Aurora Borealis? More like aurora boring-alis.”

It wasn’t boring for Shawn Dahl, service coordinator for NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, who explained how it happens.

“It’s a manifestation from activity that has come 93 million miles from the sun in an enhanced capacity, that it interacts with Earth’s magnetic field here, and we call it, it brings to life something called a magnetic storm that we call a geomagnetic storm,” Dahl said.

Those who saw it know it’s rare.

“It normally is quite rare. That’s right, Daniel. The thing is that we’re in the midst of solar cycle number 25. It’s roughly an 11-year average cycle, and we are reaching the maximum of activity during the cycle,” Dahl said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Walker said.

Dahl said the D.C. area could actually see another one soon.

“This kind of thing is going to continue to happen because even though we’re in the grips of solar maximum, we still have to get through this year. All of next year, and even to some of the 2026 before things really begin to settle down,” Dahl said.

If and when there is another aurora in the D.C. area it’s best to get as far away as you can from light pollution.

It’s one of the reasons your naked eye might not be able to see it well in the city but your camera capturing a long exposure can.

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