Aurora Borealis visible across the United States last week

Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com) – The Aurora Borealis, otherwise known as the Northern Lights, were visible last Thursday evening and into Friday morning after a significant geomagnetic event hit Earth’s atmosphere all throughout Thursday.

Enthusiasts and photographers flocked outdoors to see the heavenly lights show, with viewers reporting and imaging a range of colors, from light greens to deep purples. The geomagnetic event was so powerful, that on the index scale which measures the phenomena, the Kp scale, southwestern Kansas experienced a Kp index of 8.7 at the height of the event. For context, the Kp scale measures from 1-9, with 9 being the maximum reading.

Garden City sports director and amateur astrophotographer Kolby Van Camp, imaged the breathtaking aurora over a grain elevator in a field thirty minutes outside of Garden City on Thursday evening. He has named the image, “Ghost of the Prairie Sea.”