Northern lights dazzle worldwide as strong G3 geomagnetic storm sparks stunning show (photos)

We were expecting a show this weekend and boy did the sky deliver!

Stunning northern lights lit up skies across the U.S. as a series of powerful geomagnetic storms sparked auroras far beyond their usual polar limits. From North America to northern Europe, skywatchers were treated to a dazzling show.

The burst of activity came as Earth was hit by a complex wave of solar energy, delivering a one-two punch from multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) alongside a fast stream of solar wind from a coronal hole. Strong (G3) storm levels were reached over the weekend, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, setting the stage for widespread aurora sightings. We’ve rounded up some of this weekend’s best northern lights photos and videos below.

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Photographer Hasan Akbas captured this stunning aurora show from Fairbanks, Alaska, on March 20. An aurora corona or “crown” appears when the northern lights appear directly overhead.

Akbas also captured a curtain of color as the northern lights danced over snow-capped mountains in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Aurora chaser Hunter Fowkes had a great show from Cheyenne, Wyoming, on March 20 at around 1:30 a.m.

“Before the Aurora tried to rival the brightness of the sun at 1:30 am last night, stout pillars during the opening phase of a substorm,” Fowkes wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, deep at mid-latitudes (36° N), aurora chaser Derick Wilson captured a red aurora glow from northwest New Mexico!

X user Jakes in Iceland witnessed a truly remarkable show as the northern lights danced overhead from Reykjavik, Iceland.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada shared this dramatic timelapse of the weekend auroras.

Photographer Paul Clark shared a beautiful timelapse of the northern lights dancing over Buttertubs Pass, the Yorkshire Dales, England.

Meanwhile, photographer Alistair Hamill was treated to a truly dreamy scene as he captured faint pink auroras breaking through a hazy sky above the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland.

The show wasn’t limited to folks in the Northern Hemisphere; down under, skywatchers got a stunning display of aurora australis or southern lights.

X user AustraliaSkynWeather shared this view of the southern lights from Trentham, Victoria, Australia, using an iPhone 17Pro.

While the weekend’s geomagnetic activity is beginning to wind down, the show may not be completely over yet. Minor to moderate (G1 to G2) storm conditions could linger into March 23, according to the U.K. Met Office, with elevated solar wind continuing to buffet Earth’s magnetic field.