Rare sight: Northern lights seen in Northern California

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PLACERVILLE, Calif. (KCRA) — A few dozen people made their way to the Placerville Observatory on Monday night, hoping to catch a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights, which were visible only through a camera lens.

“We came over here to see the aurora and see if we can try to see it like through our phones, and we’ve been seeing it like, through waves, and it’s been really pretty,” 11-year-old Evelyn Strange said. “It was just like reddish pinkish and it was really light.”

The observatory, located away from city lights and above the fog line, offered a prime location to attempt to view the Northern Lights.

“It’s rare to see the aurora down this far south,” Raj Dixit of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society said. “I, quite frankly, thought I might never see them during my own lifetime unless I was willing to pony up for a trip to Norway or Alaska or Iceland or Finland. Normally, you have to go to the Arctic Circle.”

The aurora was spawned from a coronal mass ejection, known as a CME, which created a strong geomagnetic storm in Earth’s magnetic fields.

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