PORTLAND, Maine — A lot of Mainers got great views of the Northern Lights this weekend, and it turns out those views extended far beyond our state.
While it's rare to see the lights in Maine, it's even more rare to see them in states like Alabama and Texas.
The Northern Lights are something many people wait their entire lives to see, and many Mainers had a couple once-in-a-lifetime chances this past weekend.
It all has to do with the solar wind, which is made up of charged protons and electrons from the sun. They travel toward the earth and enter at the poles, which are the field's strongest points.
The electrons collide with molecules in our atmosphere, and this results in the different colors we see. Green or red for oxygen molecules, and blue or pink for nitrogen.
The reason so much of the U.S. was able to see the Northern Lights was because this geomagnetic storm was extremely strong. NOAA confirmed a G5 geomagnetic storm reached earth Friday evening, and it was the first since 2003.
Now let's get to the fun part of this whole thing: the spectacular light show itself! We got hundreds of pictures from viewers and wanted to share several of them.
Here is a photo sent in from Allison Taylor in Windham.
Next is a picture from Readfield sent in from Dianne Smith.
We have another sent in from Jean in Palmyra, Maine. Even with a few clouds, it really shows how it takes over the entire sky.
Merilee Jacques in Lincoln sent us this gorgeous purple picture.
...and last but not least, a group of people gathered on a dock in Standish to view the Northern Lights together.
Thanks for the picture, Kerry, and thanks for all of the pictures everyone sent in. Everyone had a unique view of the lights, and no two photos are the same.
There's still some good news if you missed it this past weekend! While nothing is a guarantee, NOAA says that as the sun reaches the peak of it's 11-year cycle, we could see even more aurora.
- Aaron