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Photos: See the Northern lights from rare solar storm

Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley.
Peter Byrne
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PA Images/Getty Images
Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley.

The largest geomagnetic storm in nearly two decades is hitting earth's atmosphere. It's producing a beautiful glow in the sky all over the world.

A sunspot has sent a stream of charged particles towards earth.

As those particles hit the earth's atmosphere they will be heated and start glowing producing beautiful aurora.

Lisa Upton is with the Southwest Research Institute. Social media is already filling with photos from places like Finland, Russia, Germany and New Zealand, which catches the same effect in the southern hemisphere. It's not clear how far down in the U.S. the aurora will spread, but Upton is keeping an eye out in Colorado.

Space weather forecasters expect the solar storm to peak overnight, but it will last throughout the weekend.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Brunswick, Maine: The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
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AP
Brunswick, Maine: The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Brandenburg, Germany: Light green and slightly reddish auroras glow in the night sky.
Patrick Pleul / dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
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dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Brandenburg, Germany: Light green and slightly reddish auroras glow in the night sky.
Whitley Bay, England: People visit St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights.
Ian Forsyth / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Whitley Bay, England: People visit St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights.
Saxony-Anhalt, Schierke, Germany: Northern lights can be seen from the Brocken. The natural spectacle is particularly intense on Saturday night.
Matthias Bein / dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
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dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Saxony-Anhalt, Schierke, Germany: Northern lights can be seen from the Brocken. The natural spectacle is particularly intense on Saturday night.
Hesse, Germany: Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse.
Lando Hass / dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
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dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
Hesse, Germany: Northern lights appear in the night sky over the Pferdskopf near Treisberg in the Hochtaunus district of Hesse.
London, Ontario: Northern lights or aurora borealis illuminate the night sky near London, Ontario, during a geomagnetic storm on May 10, 2024.
Geoff Robins / AFP/Getty Images
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AFP/Getty Images
London, Ontario: Northern lights or aurora borealis illuminate the night sky near London, Ontario, during a geomagnetic storm on May 10, 2024.
Debrad, Slovakia: Northern lights illuminate the sky May 11, 2024.
Robert Nemeti / Anadolu/Getty Images
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Anadolu/Getty Images
Debrad, Slovakia: Northern lights illuminate the sky May 11, 2024.
Eindhoven, Ukraine: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Eindhoven, Ukraine, May 10, 2024.
Nikos Oikonomou / Anadolu/Getty Images
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Anadolu/Getty Images
Eindhoven, Ukraine: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Eindhoven, Ukraine, May 10, 2024.
Liseleje, Denmark:  Northern lights illuminate the sky in Liseleje, Denmark on May 11, 2024.
Mohamed El-Shemy / Anadolu/Getty Images
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Anadolu/Getty Images
Liseleje, Denmark: Northern lights illuminate the sky in Liseleje, Denmark on May 11, 2024.
Markville, Minnesota: The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Mark Vancleave / AP
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AP
Markville, Minnesota: The northern lights glow in the sky over St. Croix State Forest late Friday, May 10, 2024.
Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine: Northern lights light up the sky May 11, 2024.
Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu/Getty Images
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Anadolu/Getty Images
Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine: Northern lights light up the sky May 11, 2024.
Skidmore, Missouri: Old tombstones stand against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Charlie Riedel / AP
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AP
Skidmore, Missouri: Old tombstones stand against the northern lights at a cemetery early Saturday, May 11, 2024.

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Geoff Brumfiel works as a senior editor and correspondent on NPR's science desk. His editing duties include science and space, while his reporting focuses on the intersection of science and national security.