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Climate and Environment

Believe It Or Not, The Northern Lights Hit Southern California Last Night

By  Kevin Tidmarsh
Published May 11, 2024 7:55 AM
Beautiful red and orange lights shooting out of a dark night
The Northern Lights visible at Mt. Wilson
(
Courtesy High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
/
UCSD
)

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This weekend's solar storm brought a rare opportunity for many people in the continental U.S. to see bright and vivid northern lights last night.

And while other cities farther north got a better view of the unusually strong solar storm, there were a few viewing places where you could see a glimpse of the aurora borealis close to the horizon.

The city wasn't exactly a prime viewing point, but given the strength of the storm, the lights were visible Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Northern lights emerging in the dark
(
Courtesy High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
/
UCSD
)
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Red, orange Northern Lights coloring the night skies.
(
Courtesy High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
/
UCSD
)

But the people watching the lights from Mount Wilson in person managed to snap some more impressive pictures.

And Mount Wilson wasn't the only spot to observe the solar storm — the high desert also had some opportunities to view the lights close to the horizon.

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And for those of us who can't make the trip up to Mount Wilson or another vantage point with low light pollution, never forget that there are cathedrals everywhere with those with the eyes to see.

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