For the second time this year, the northern lights have made it all the way south to the Houston area. Throughout Texas , faint hues of red and pink lights glowing in the night sky Thursday dazzled stargazers across the state.The cause of the natural phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, was an intense geomagnetic storm triggered by a massive explosion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun toward Earth.
In Conroe, Kyle Nichols captured images of the sky illuminated in shades of crimson. Clear weather conditions allowed stars scattered in the background to shine along with it. About an hour west of Houston at Stephen F. Austin State Park, rose-colored auroras were also visible.
Just north of Houston! https://t.co/g3cuod2qBc
— Matt Lanza 🤌🏼 (@mattlanza) October 11, 2024
🗣️Hey folks! You may be able to see the Northern Lights tonight! 📍This was taken in Bryan. 📱If you can’t see with your eyes, use your cell phone and take a picture of the sky pointing north. 📸: Shawn Gray pic.twitter.com/1206Uv4R4G
— 🚨 Rusty Surette (@KBTXRusty) October 11, 2024
South of I-10, West of Houston suburbs. pic.twitter.com/VXZRXg57Ww
— Nick Saban (@sabannick) October 11, 2024
The northern lights put on an even more spectacular show further north in the state. In Lubbock, staff with the National Weather Service witnessed an array of green, red and pink pillars on the northern horizon.
🔭📷 WOW! The Aurora Borealis is putting on quite the show across West Texas tonight. Check out these photos taken by some of our staff a few miles NW of Lubbock the evening. For more info on the #aurora , visit our friends at @NWSSWPC . Can you see the aurora where you are? #txwx pic.twitter.com/bQ5tWDiDMU
— NWS Lubbock (@NWSLubbock) October 11, 2024
The colors of the northern lights are caused by the interaction between electrons from space and gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Red hues are caused by oxygen molecules at high altitudes, while pink is caused by nitrogen molecules at lower altitudes. Green light is emitted instead of red due to a higher concentration of oxygen at lower altitudes…