Northern lights provide spectacular show over P.E.I.
CBC News | Posted: May 11, 2024 3:13 PM | Last Updated: May 11, 2024
Many headed to coast in wee hours of the morning for best viewing
Many on P.E.I. flocked to the beach on Friday, but not to go swimming or lie in the sand.
It was around midnight, and they were there to see one of the most vivid displays of light caused by the aurora borealis in decades.
According to the Canadian Space Agency, the northern lights, or aurora borealis, occur when the sun blasts charged particles into space, which is called the solar wind. Earth's magnetic field forms an invisible shield that redirects the solar wind around our planet.
"As Earth's magnetic field protects us from the solar wind, the magnetic field lines are dragged and stretched," the agency says on its website.
"They snap back like an elastic band, launching charged particles down towards Earth's surface along the magnetic field lines Auroras occur when these charged particles launched along Earth's magnetic field collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere."
They are best viewed away from city lights, where most of these photos were taken.