A powerful geomagnetic storm lit up the night sky on Friday and early Saturday morning, resulting in an incredible light show across eastern Ontario.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared Friday evening’s rare event as a powerful G5 storm, or ‘extreme,’ geomagnetic storm, a level of severity last recorded in 2003.
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, is caused by coronal mass injections (CME’s) from the sun that slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles to the poles, creating the cinematic phenomenon.
Social media users across eastern Ontario shared photos of the event as skies began to clear in the early hours of Saturday morning. The light show was reportedly visible in the early hours of Saturday in the outer suburbs of Ottawa, including Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven.
Northern lights typically don’t reach latitudes as far south as eastern and southern Ontario, with Friday night and Saturday morning’s light show being a rare spectacle.
Cloudy skies across Ottawa in the late evening made viewing abilities difficult for those who wanted to see the event. Viewing capabilities are best in rural areas outside of cities, as light pollution brightens the sky.
The aurora borealis also coloured the skies across Canada and several countries around the world between Friday and Saturday night, in territories further south than usual, such as California, due to the geomagnetic storm.
Those hoping to catch the northern lights might have a chance on Saturday night. NOAA reported on Saturday that the storm will continue through at least Sunday.
Click the photo gallery below to see photos of the rare event from CTV News viewers!
Do you have a picture of the night sky? Send them to CTV News Ottawa.
With files from CTV News Toronto