On October 10, 2024, the Chicago night skyline transformed into a vibrant illustration of bold red and green colors. Visible, yet faint to the naked eye, the lights through a phone camera allowed the colors to blossom. This normally faraway event occurred in Chicago because of a severe geomagnetic storm, classified as a 4 on a scale of 5 for intensity. The lights occur when electrically charged particles from the sun hit the Earth’s magnetic field.
“I had not been aware that the lights were coming to Chicago and missed them,” said Rachel Bullock’25. “I would love for them to return because I can probably actually go out and see them in all their glory.”
While many know what the lights are, they don’t understand what exactly causes them.
“This phenomenon occurs when solar radiation hits the upper layers of our atmosphere. Specifically, it’s called the thermosphere where this happens,” said Peter Podlipni, an astronomy teacher here at Jones.
Located in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the magnetic poles dictate the appearance of the lights- the closer in proximity the more vibrant they appear. When a geomagnetic storm occurs, specific particles mix and cause the lights to stretch further down or up toward the equator.
“When nitrogen and oxygen particles are hit with the solar radiation, they interact with it (the solar radiation) and start to glow,” said Podlipni.
Yet, despite the presence of these glamorous colors all over Chicago, the ability to witness this historic event depended on the level of light pollution around your area.
“I was lucky enough to be able to see it,” said Lily Block ‘25. “I watched it on the Belmont ledge. We were able to see the colors faintly but they really came to life on our phone cameras. The whole sky was lit up in green and red colors.”
The cause for the Northern lights’ unexpected migration South can be traced back to its source, the sun.
“The sun is on an 11-year activity cycle, it could be indicating that the sun is just more active lately,” said Podlipni. “When it’s more active, that indicates the magnetic pole of the sun is flipping from North to South or South to North. It just indicates more intense solar activity.”
Despite the significance of the event, many students did not know of the opportunity because of little reporting on the episodes prior to the lights arriving.
“It’s just like, word of mouth,” said Podlipni. “like, oh, there’s a lot of solar activity happening lately, they’re predicting that tonight might be a good night to see them.”
For those interested in information beyond word of mouth, following forecasting organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) highlight when the event is occurring in abnormal areas. Make sure to stay in the loop when this phenomenon occurs to catch the next one!
