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Northern lights seen in Georgia, as far south as the coast

Gillberg
Northern lights seen in Georgia, as far south as the coast

Forecasters said the northern lights triggered by solar storms could be visible in Tennessee or North Carolina, but there were sightings across Georgia Friday evening, as far south as Tybee Island.

A view near Johns Creek in North Fulton County, Georgia (Photo by Alex Sanz/AJC)

Credit: Alex Sanz

icon to enlarge the image

Credit: Alex Sanz

The purple, red and green reflections of the Northern Lights are the result of an unusually strong solar storm, according to the Associated Press. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar burst reached Earth Friday afternoon, hours earlier than expected. The effects were expected to last through the weekend and possibly into next week.

The Northern Lights will be visible in some states starting at 10 p.m. Check out the current forecast for Saturday evening from the Space Weather Prediction Center. As of Saturday afternoon, Georgia was not included in the viewing area. But that could change – as it did on Friday.

“It really is the gift of space weather: the northern lights,” Rob Steenburgh, a scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told AP. He and his colleagues said the best views of aurora might come from phone cameras, which capture light better than the naked eye.

ExploreSolar storm offers brilliant light show across the globe

This is something you rarely see in Georgia.

A view of Gwinnett County on Friday. (Ron Sirmans/AJC)

Credit: Ron Sirmans

icon to enlarge the image

Credit: Ron Sirmans

ExploreFor some Georgians, this rare weather event can be compared to a snow day in Macon or the 2017 total solar eclipse.

Here are other sightings of the night sky spectacle shared on social media:

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