In these captivating images: The Northern Lights illuminate the night sky.

 The Aurora borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, lights up the sky in Manning Park, British Columbia, Canada on May 11, 2024. 

The Earth experienced its most potent solar storm in over two decades on Friday, setting off mesmerizing displays of the Northern Lights, or Aurora borealis, across the world.

Significance: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center reported unprecedented G5 geomagnetic conditions impacting Earth for the first time since 2003.

The storm carries the risk of disrupting communication systems, the electrical grid, and various operations such as navigation, radio, and satellite functions.

Northern Lights forecast 2024

Making headlines: The Space Weather Prediction Center announced on Saturday that a "highly intensified solar wind atmosphere and influences from Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are anticipated to persist on May 11th."

The center stated, "It is highly probable that geomagnetic disturbances will endure throughout the weekend, with multiple additional Earth-directed CMEs en route to the outer atmosphere of Earth."

The forecast indicates that storms are anticipated to persist until Sunday, May 12th, with the center forecasting another "minor event" likely to continue through Monday, according to a 3-day projection.

Aurora borealis in photos

The big picture: Photos from around the world show beautiful and bright sky with pink, purple, green and other colors from auroras.

• The views are usually seen in high latitudes but were visible farther south because of the strong solar storm.
• #Auroraborealis and #geomagneticstorm were trending early Saturday on X.

Context: In the Southern Hemisphere, it's known as the Southern Lights or Aurora australis.

The Aurora borealis and setting Moon as seen late Friday night from Albany, New York.

Unusual sun activity created a G5 Geostorm on Earth sparked an Aurora borealis in Mount Mitchell, North Carolina on May 10, 2024.

Northern Lights illumination were visible in purple and green color bands from the Dutch countryside. Winterle, Netherlands on May 11, 2024.

Northern Lights illuminated the sky in Rochester, New York on May 11, 2024.

Northern Lights illuminate the night sky north of San Francisco in Middletown, California on May 11, 2024. 

A photographer takes pictures of the Aurora australis, also known as the Southern Lights, over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch on May 11, 2024. 

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