The northern lights were on display in the Pittsburgh area. Here's a look at the views of the auroras.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- People in the Pittsburgh area had the chance to see the northern lights on Thursday night.
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch for a G4 storm that triggered the northern lights around the Pittsburgh area this week.
Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area fell between 7 and 9 on the K Index, which reflects the magnitude of a geomagnetic storm. The 7 range is listed as "strong" while the 9 index is listed as "extreme."
It all culminated with a stunning show in the sky on Thursday night. At the Wagman Observatory in Frazer Township, people gathered for a watch party to see the breathtaking view.
"This is awesome," Mimi Lou said. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would see it here in Deer Lakes. I thought I would have to travel and pay thousands of dollars to see this, and now it is in our backyard."
"It makes you think of stuff that's bigger than you and bigger than us," Michael Pohl said. "It's something special, and everybody can enjoy it."
What's the best way to see the northern lights?
If you missed the northern lights on Thursday, it's not out of the realm of the possibility to see the light show on Friday.
There are a few things you can do to try and see the northern lights. Once it gets dark, find a spot away from lights, let your eyes adjust and look north. They show up best in pictures. Use "night mode" on your phone!
Have we seen the northern lights in the Pittsburgh area more often this year?
Colorful auroras from the northern lights were visible throughout the Pittsburgh area earlier this week for at least the third time this year.
Both the aurora borealis and the Perseid meteor shower were visible one night in August, making for a dazzling celestial show. Green, purple, red and pink hues were also visible in Western Pennsylvania skies back in May.
The National Weather Service says right now, we're in an active solar cycle, something that happens every 11 years.
"The solar cycle that we're in now ends in 2030," said Fred McMullen of NWS Pittsburgh. "But the peak is next year in 2025, so we're hitting that peak of the solar cycle, hence we're able to see the northern lights, to see more solar storms now than we had in years past."
What causes the northern lights?
When a geomagnetic storm occurs, solar wind is sent toward Earth.
Charged protons and electrons follow Earth's magnetic field and enter the Earth where the magnetic fields are the weakest: the poles. The electrons smash into all the different molecules that make up our atmosphere, creating a dazzling display of colors in the sky.
"The shapes that we see with the northern lights, the streaks, swirls, it's all a relationship in terms of how that superheated plasma from the Sun interacts with the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the Earth," McMullen said.
