Aurora glows in weekend sky following eruption on the sun
The northern lights were spotted as far south as Missouri and New Mexico as one of the best showings of the aurora since 2024 unfoled over the weekend.
The northern lights were visible from Maine to Washington for a third night on June 2.
One of the best displays of the aurora so far in 2025 unfolded over the weekend with onlookers around the world catching a glimpse of green, red and pink colors swirling in the sky.
The celestial lights were the result of a massive explosion on the sun, known as a solar flare, which sent a cloud of charged particles at the Earth. The aurora is created by the way the charged particles interact with the planet's atmosphere and magnetic field.
People take visuals of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch on June 1, 2025. (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images)
The show started earlier than initially expected, with people across the United States seeing the northern lights in the early hours of Sunday morning. Photographers captured images of the lights as far south as Missouri and New Mexico.
New Zealand had some of the best views of the phenomenon due to the time the event peaked and the longer nights in the Southern Hemisphere in early June. South of the equator, they are known as the southern lights or the aurora australis.
A man takes visuals of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch on June 1, 2025. (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images)
By the time the sun was setting in the United States on Sunday, the aurora was starting to wane, but some photographers still managed to capture images of the lights. Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada added to the challenge of seeing the aurora on Sunday night.
Additional widespread displays of the aurora are unlikely through the rest of the week unless there are additional solar flares on the sun.
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