The aurora was the result of a massive solar flare, the strongest since 2017, that the sun unleashed late last week.

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Skygazers were treated to a display of the Northern Lights in Southern New England Sunday night. A G1 (minor) storm was confirmed by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The lights are caused by the interaction between those charged particles and gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.

In May, a nother powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across western Washington, including in the Seattle area. Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the northern lights were reported across the Pacific Northwest and worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, London, Prague, Barcelona and elsewhere.