Aurora borealis lights up P.E.I. skies as solar activity hits 11-year peak - Action News
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PEIPhotos

Aurora borealis lights up P.E.I. skies as solar activity hits 11-year peak

Prince Edward Islanders were treated to a show of the northern lights Thursday evening.

Reds and pinks join greens and purples as Islanders take photos of the heavens

Covehead Lighthouse shines against a background of red and green northern lights.
The Covehead lighthouse on Thursday night. (Submitted by Berni Wood)

Prince Edward Islanders were treated to a show of the northern lights Thursday evening.

Streaks of red, white and green in the sky with dark trees in the foreground.
Red and green streaks set off by white clouds in Charlottetown. (Alex MacIsaac/CBC)

Also known as the aurora borealis, the northern lights are caused by solar storms. When the powerful stream of solar particles hits the Earth's magnetic field, it lights up the sky in dazzling colours, usually in the northern part of the firmament.

A red glow with tinges of green over a white house.
Northern lights over a house in Charlottetown. (Ken Linton/CBC)

The aurora is not normally seen as far south as P.E.I., but the sun has been very active recently, pushing the upper atmosphere activity into more southern latitudes.

The increased solar activity is part of an 11-year cycle, which is currently approaching or may have already reached its peak.

Red and green blotches over houses at night.
A red and green sky was visible in the Winsloe area. (Jay Scotland/CBC)

In Charlottetown, even with the city lights, a red glow could be seen above, even reaching into the southern part of the sky. As seen through the lens of a smart-phone camera the glow sprang out as vivid red and pink, with some green also visible.

White clouds set off by pink sky.
As seen with the eye, the sky was tinted pink, but the image through a smart phone camera was more vivid. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)

As seen from the North Shore, the colours were even more vivid.

Streaks of green light above a horizon of trees, with streaks of red light above.
The aurora borealis as seen from the North Shore. (Submitted by Berni Wood)

Some areas of the province had a more muted effect thanks to rain clouds in the atmosphere, however.

Shades of green, pink and purple are arrayed in a crown-like effect over trees and a river.
The Big Dipper could be seen through the aurora borealis over Vernon River in eastern P.E.I. (Carolyn Ryan/CBC)