Photo Credit: Larry Simpson – Silver Hill Road area in the Gore Community
Residents of Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama have been treated to a rare sight the past two nights – the Aurora Borealis – or “Northern Lights”. It’s not every day that residents in the Deep South see the displays that are normally relegated to areas closer to the North or South Poles.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Aurora Borealis are the result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The phenomenon is primarily seen in the polar regions.
However, during major geomagnetic storms, these ovals expand away from the poles such that aurora can be seen over most of the United States.
When space weather activity increases and more frequent and larger storms and substorms occur, the aurora extends equatorward. During large events, the aurora can be observed as far south as the US, Europe, and Asia.
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