Northern Lights Spotted Near Portland, Oregon

The Northern Lights exploded into skies across the United States and the many places around the world on Monday night October 24, 2011.

Some of the weakest displays were in Oregon and Washington.

But it’s a miracle anyone here saw them at all because most of us living here never have.

Photos Show The Northern Lights Near Portland And In Parts Of Washington

The main picture was taken by Bob Williams when he drove to Crown Point, Oregon, just a few minutes east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge. Although he could not see the Auroras with the naked eye, he picked up their reddish-orange glow with a 60 second exposure. Something photographers across the U.S. did where the Auroras were faint.

This second shot, taken by Nathan Bilentinkoff, shows a greenish-reddish-orange combo of the Auroras in Washington’s San Juan Islands looking in the direction of Orcas Island. Again, a longer 30 second exposure was required to capture the faint light of these Northwest Auroras.

This round of Northern Lights was caused by a blast of solar energy aimed right at earth. The blast happened on October 22, 2011 and about two days later the solar storm was on. The best October 2011 Northern Lights gallery anywhere is on one of my favorite web sites–check out these incredible colors seen in places like Kansas, New York and even Arkansas!