Northern Lights put on magical display in northern US states

Geomagnetic storm caused by solar flare behind light show

They are one of the most spectacular sights in the night sky.

And this week the Northern lights, or the aurora borealis, have been on full display further south than normal thanks to a geomagnetic storm.

The storm, caused by a solar flare, has meant that sky gazers in northern US states, from Maine to Washington have been able to see the spectacular lights over the past few nights.

And the storm was so powerful that the light show was visible as far south as New York and Wisconsin.

The colourful auroras form when particles flowing from the sun get caught up in the Earth’s magnetic field, and when they interact with molecules of atmospheric gas they cause the bright green and red colours.

NOAA calls this a G2 on its five-point scale, which means people can see it at lower latitudes than normal.

The lights are normally only seen in far northern and southern locations of the planet, and are expected to wane by Wednesday night.

In North America they are normally best seen in parts of Canada and Alaska.

Solar storms, in addition to creating the aurora, can also disrupt satellites in orbit and power grids.

Although the Aurora is not visible in the daylight hours, it can typically be viewed just before sunset or just before sunrise.

Twitter users took to the social media platform to post pictures of the amazing light show on Monday and Tuesday.