Northern Lights appear in Sagamore

After experiencing a solar eclipse, Northeast Ohio was again the site of a solar phenomenon when the Northern Lights were visible in early May.

Communities throughout the state, including Sagamore Hills, could see the multi-colored Aurora Borealis, though the colors and sharpness of the lights were clearer through smartphone pictures.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center explained that the Aurora Borealis is a result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The altitude of the aurora and atmospheric compounds determine the color of the lights.

The lights are merely a byproduct of geomagnetic storms caused by “a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth,” according to the SWPC.

People throughout the state went outside in the late evening hours the weekend of May 10 to try to capture the rare event. Sagamore police officer Dan DeCrane took photos of the sky surrounding the township police department. ∞

Photo: The Northern Lights were visible in Northeast Ohio in early May, including in Sagamore Hills. The photos were taken from the Sagamore police department parking lot. Photo by Dan DeCrane.