“Phenomenal”: Canadians share dazzling photos of northern lights

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Most of Canada witnessed a breathtaking display of the northern lights due to a geomagnetic storm that impacted North America.

People shared photos of the aurora borealis that lit up the sky on Friday, May 10, an extremely rare phenomenon. Although aurora and geomagnetic storms are, in fact, relatively frequent, flares of this magnitude are quite rare. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had issued an alert about the “severe” geomagnetic storm, classed as G4 — the first of that strength since 2005.

“You’ll only get a couple of those over the whole course of the decade of the solar cycle,” Matthew Cimone, head interpreter at the HR MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, told Daily Hive.

BC resident Barbora Kyselicova‘s hobby is “looking for northern lights” with her daughter.

Submitted

She said they drove to Porteau Cove at around 7 pm local time and found the parking lot full.

Barbora Kyselicova (Submitted)

“People started parking their cars on the highway corners; that’s why people weren’t able to get out from the parking lot for a long time,” she said. “We were waiting one hour.”

“Other than that, it was the best night; people were super nice, and the aurora was phenomenal,” she said.

Barbora Kyselicova (Submitted)

Euan McGhee, who shared photos with Daily Hive, said he saw the northern lights from Halfmoon Bay in BC.

Euan McGhee (Submitted)

Euan McGhee (Submitted)

Euan McGhee (Submitted)

Meanwhile, BC resident John Preissl didn’t have to go far to see the northern lights.

John Preissl (Submitted)

“I took these shots from my deck and front yard in Secret Cove last evening from 10:46 pm until 4:17 am this morning,” he said. “It was the single best aurora I have witnessed in 62 years.”

John Preissl (Submitted)

John Preissl (Submitted)

Across the country in Nova Scotia, people also witnessed nature’s stunning light show.

The northern lights were also visible across Ontario.

Residents of Quebec also had an impressive view.

In Edmonton, residents photographed the bright pink, purple, and green streaks that lit up the evening sky.

However, hours after the colourful spectacle, Alberta was hit with heavy wildfire smoke.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued special air quality statements for large swaths of the province due to wildfire smoke from northeastern BC, which caused poor air quality and visibility.

Did you witness the northern lights? Let us know in the comments.

With files from Megan Devlin and Laine Mitchell

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