PEORIA Ill. (WMBD) — Some lucky Central Illinois residents got the opportunity to see the northern lights Sunday night.
An unusually large geomagnetic storm on the sun sent solar particles to Earth allowing for lower latitudes to see the aurora borealis. There’s a chance you’ll be able to see them again Monday night.
Renae Kerrigan with the Peoria riverfront museum said if you want to see the lights, you’ll have to be facing north and in a dark viewing spot away from the city lights.
“It’s not common at all for it to be visible here in Central Illinois just because of our latitude. Typically if you want to see the northern lights you’ll have to travel pretty far north to be able to see them. So there’s always luck involved and the weather and your viewing conditions so it seemed like things lined up pretty well for some viewers here in Central Illinois last night and fingers crossed we can have a chance to see them again tonight,” said Kerrigan.
She said if you can’t see them with your naked eye, try using your phone’s camera. This will allow for a brighter exposure, making the lights visible on your phone.
