Central Oregon experiences a spectacular celestial event – the northern lights

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- People stayed up late Friday night to catch a glimpse of a natural phenomenon -- the northern lights. If you went outside your door last night, you probably saw the dazzling aurora borealis -- shimmering layers of pink, green, blue or orange painting the night sky. 

For Central Oregon, it's a treat to see the northern lights. But for people as far south as Puerto Rico and Florida, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. 

 The director of the Cascade Astronomy and Rocketry Academy, Bob Grossfeld, explained how this celestial event was possible. 

"This event took place because of a solar eruption that took place a few days ago," he explained. "And that material from the sun took about 36 to 48 hours to get to the Earth. So we knew it was coming. And we know there are some that are going to follow that.

"So there have been large eruptions from the sun during what we call solar maximum. And so every 11 years, we have a maximum of solar activity. This just happens to be the peak. So on '24-25, we expect to see this type of solar activity."

Electronic devices like GPS that require satellite communication may be interfered with by a geomagnetic storm like this.

Grossfeld said the lights will be most visible Saturday and Sunday nights. He predicts that your best chance to spot the lights will likely be between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

You can see our growing slide show of your great northern lights photos here.