ATLANTA — The northern lights showed up for a spectacular, rare show on Friday night across much of the world, including as far south as Georgia and even Florida -- and there may be a second act on the way tonight.
It's because there is a G5 Geomagnetic Storm Observation across the United States, the first time it has ever happened here since 2003. Also known formally as the aurora borealis, the northern lights are most typically found in high-latitude regions like the Arctic and Antarctic.
RELATED: Northern lights can be seen across metro Atlanta! See all the photos from those across the state
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWS Space Weather Prediction Center, this "extreme geomagnetic storm continues and will persist through at least Sunday."
"Overnight, aurora were visible across much of the United States," an NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center graphic posted Saturday morning stated. "Weather permitting, they may be visible again tonight."
According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, the G5 Geomagnetic Storm Index level we experienced last night was still being observed as of 7:28 a.m. Saturday morning.
So what does that mean for Georgia?
Could Georgia see the Northern Lights again tonight?
11Alive Meteorologist Melissa Nord explains:
"People have been asking— if I missed it last night, can I see the northern lights tonight?
"Perhaps. But also maybe not. It depends how strong the solar storm stays this evening.
"IF G5 holds again tonight, northern lights could be visible again in southern states. It is G5 this morning but we are in daylight. Crossing fingers! We shall see…"
When is the best time to look for the Northern Lights?
Whenever it's dark. As detailed above, whether or not they will be visible will depend on the intensity of the geomagnetic storm -- and it's very hard to predict how long that intensity will hold up for.
(Also, and this part might seem obvious -- but it needs to not be cloudy.)
Thankfully, the cloud cover looks to hold off and we will have a clear to mostly clear sky overhead until mid-morning.
We'll have to wait and see!
Best way to see and capture the moment
If you look north in the sky and see faint hues of red, purple, pink, or green -- that is the Northern Lights.
To your naked eye, it won't exactly look like the images you're probably familiar with of the Northern Lights in, say, Alaska or Finland.
But if you use a longer-exposure camera -- iPhones have the feature, for example -- it will get you the stunning images we saw people sending in last night.
Photos | Northern lights around metro Atlanta
News happens fast. Stream it faster with our re-designed 11Alive+ app.
Watch newscasts, breaking news streams and get the latest sports, weather and VERIFY content -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Available on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Text "plus" to 404-885-7600 to download 11Alive+ and stream now.