PHOTOS: Southwest Sask. enjoys astounding northern lights show

The light show last night over Swift Current was one seen all over the world.

The northern lights were out in force, in what is being touted by enthusiasts as the strongest display in 20 years. The huge volume of lights stretched as far south as the southern United States, and even beyond that. Photos online are being published from as deep south as Australia, showing that these supposedly northern phenomena were dancing around the entire compass yesterday.

In southwest Sask. the lights began to show themselves even before the sun went down.

Even with the sun still well over the horizon, the lights began to shine in the sky by Cabri.

According to the My Aurora Forecast and Alerts app, which tracks the lights, there is still a 45 per cent chance to see them as of 8:30 a.m. today, if the sky was dark. 

The strength of this event is owed to an overpowered solar storm. According to the Canadian Space Agency, these storms generate solar winds, which carry charged particles. When these particles collide with the gases in Earth's atmosphere, they give off tiny bursts of light. The resulting patterns, colours, and formations create the auroras we see in the sky.

Last night saw dashes of green mixed with purple, red, and pink hues. 

The northern lights are what these events are called when they happen over the northern pole. When Earth's southern pole emits these lights, they are called southern lights. 

The northern lights are most common from August to May, meaning last night's show could be the final big flash for the season.

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