PHOTOS: Awesome auroras shimmer in the sky, dazzling stargazers worldwide, including DC region

A series of unusually strong solar storms hitting Earth produced stunning skies full of pinks, purples, greens and blues farther south than normal, including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and the D.C. region.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe geomagnetic storm alert on Wednesday after after an outburst from the sun was detected earlier in the week week. Such a storm increases the chance of auroras — also known as northern lights.

See photos from the D.C. area and around the world.

An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, shines over Portsmouth, N.H., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, makes an appearance over pumpjacks as they draw out oil and gas from well heads near Cremona, Alberta, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
People watch as an aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, lights up the night sky from Montrose Point, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glows in the night sky above apartment buildings in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel P. Derella)
The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are seen in the sky near Knaresborough, England, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Andrew Hawkes via AP)

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