STUNNING PHOTOS: Northern lights reach Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aurora borealis? At this time of year, in this part of the country? Yes, actually.

An anticipated extreme geomagnetic storm is currently reaching Earth, set to continue lashing our planet throughout the weekend with coronal mass ejections — eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun — and noted as the strongest solar storm to impact our Pale Blue Dot since 2003.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasted early on that the solar winds would disturb Earth’s magnetic field and produce aurora borealis, aka the northern lights, in far many more places than just the planet’s poles.

While it was never a guarantee that us Central Floridians would be able to see the lights from our humble porches and docks on Friday, it turns out that’s exactly what happened. Not only that, but the same is possible Saturday night.

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News 6 viewers — many of whom are making good use of ClickOrlando.com’s PinIt! feature — have been sending in beautiful photos of the phenomenon from across the state, capturing rare views of a pinkish night sky above silhouettes of Florida’s oak forests, cypress domes and palm trees.

Mike Partain emailed us these photos that he took near Jupiter which show striking streaks of color among the stars.

(STORY CONTINUES BELOW)

Before we get into more pictures however, let’s talk about the chances that Saturday night gives us as good of an atmospheric show as we got Friday.

According to News 6 Meteorologist Jonathan Kegges, there’s a possibility of seeing the northern lights again.

“Extreme G5 conditions were observed again Saturday. Weather permitting, the aurora may once again be visible low on the horizon. Look north after 10 p.m. — It may be hard to see the northern lights with the naked eye, but having a long-exposure camera will help make them visible. It’s best to get away from as many lights as possible and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 15 minutes,” Kegges said. “We are currently at G2. A return to G4 or G5 is likely tonight, allowing the possibility of Central Florida seeing the northern lights again Saturday night into early Sunday morning.”

According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, “G3 to G4 conditions have persisted through most of Saturday; a G5 period occurred early in the day.”

Don’t let it get you down if you can’t see them again, though. ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, so they say.

At the top of this story, you’ll find a gallery of some of the photos that have been kindly shared with News 6 by our Facebook followers.

Below though, we’re showcasing those wonderful Pins we’ve been talking about.

Diane Gray said that her daughter-in-law took this photo in Interlachen:

User ashjohnson19 had this view in Palm Bay:

Jessmari73 pinned this picture from her backyard near Casselberry:

User Oanderson said seeing the northern lights in Apalachicola was an amazing experience:

Shelli Tharp sent us this lovely picture with a palm tree in it.

Not last and not least — given that this plethora of intriguing images is only growing on PinIt! — John Dupee in Yulee sent in this photo of the stars.

Got some of your own Florida-based aurora borealis photos to share? Submit them with PinIt! and we might use them on air or right here on ClickOrlando.com!

Submitting is easy! After ensuring you’re signed up for our free Insider program, web users can click here to find the “Upload a Pin” button and get started. For app users, the PinIt! feature can be found along the toolbar at the bottom of our Pinpoint Weather App or by navigating the drop-down menus of the News 6 App.

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