BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — People stayed up late Friday night to catch a glimpse of a natural phenomenon: the Northern Lights. If you stepped out of your house last night, you probably saw the dazzling Northern Lights – shimmering layers of pink, green, blue or orange painting the night sky.
For Central Oregon, it’s a treat to see the Northern Lights. But for people as far away as Puerto Rico and Florida, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Cascade Astronomy and Rocketry Academy Director Bob Grossfeld explained how this celestial event was possible.
“This event took place because of a solar flare that took place a few days ago,” he explained. “And this material from the sun took about 36 to 48 hours to reach Earth. So we knew it was coming. And we know there are some that are going to follow this.”
“So there have been large solar flares during what we call solar maximum. And so every 11 years we have maximum solar activity. That happens to be the peak. So in 24- 25, we expect to see this type of solar activity.
Electronic devices like GPS that require satellite communication can be disrupted by a geomagnetic storm like this.
Grossfeld said the lights will be more visible Saturday and Sunday evening. He predicts that your best chance of spotting the lights will probably be between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.
You can see our growing slideshow of your stunning Northern Lights photos here.
