LA GRANDE — The Northern Lights made a rare visit to the United States, including the Grande Ronde Valley, Sunday night, Feb. 26, into the early hours of Monday, Feb. 27.

An aurora, sometimes referred to as polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions, formed when high-energy sun particles slam into the Earth’s magnetic field. Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky.

The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, provided a rare show in the United States in the wee hours of Sunday night into early Monday morning, due to a powerful solar eruption. Particles from the solar flare traveling toward Earth were drawn to the magnetic poles.

The phenomenon is always present near the poles, but large solar flares can cause the lights to occasionally show up in the continental U.S. This weekend’s show was viewable thanks to clear skies and the strong geomagnetic storm.