Rock County residents witnessed northern lights in southern Minnesota Thursday night, March 23.
An aurora borealis is caused by a solar storm that emits electrified gas and particles that reach magnetic field lines at the north pole.
The particles and energy interact with gases in the atmosphere, producing different colored light in the sky. According to NASA, oxygen appears green and nitrogen glows blue and purple.
Auroras are more commonly seen in northern Minnesota and near the Arctic Circle, but Thursday’s geomagnetic storm was strong enough to produce stunning displays visible in southwest Minnesota.
Star Herald staff member Heather Johnson received an alert from an app on her phone that the “KP Indexes were high and viewing in this area was likely.”
So, she packed up her family and captured several images at Blue Mounds State Park around 10:30 p.m.
Her northern lights post on the Star Herald Facebook page has since then reached nearly 13,000 people and garnered 52 comments and 63 post shares, including one by Explore Minnesota on its page Saturday.
Some in the comments shared their own northern lights captured near Kenneth and Hardwick.
According to NASA researchers, northern lights sightings in southern Minnesota may be more frequent between now and July 2025.
They say the sun’s 11-year solar cycle has periods of “fluctuating flare activity,” and we’re approaching a “solar maximum of more sunspots and increased solar activity” leading up to 2025.
Johnson said she uses an app called “My Aurora Forecast and Alerts,” which prompted her on Thursday to get outdoors for optimal viewing.