(WGGB/WSHM) -- Stargazers across Western Massachusetts witnessed a rare celestial display Tuesday night as the northern lights illuminated skies typically reserved for more northern locations.

Several people captured the colorful light show in pictures and shared them across social media. The spectacular display resulted from a particularly strong geomagnetic storm that energized particles in Earth’s atmosphere.

The vibrant northern lights were visible as far south as Texas and extended to Colorado, Florida, and Minnesota. Western Mass News First Alert Meteorologist Liam Murphy explained, “They usually travel along the magnetic field to the poles and, if the storm is strong enough, the northern lights and southern lights are able to go to some of the lower latitudes and we’re able to see them in Western Mass.”

The colors viewers see depend on the altitude where particles interact with the atmosphere, Murphy explained. “So a little bit lower in the sky, those particles are interacting, that’s when we’ll see those greens, and higher up is when we’ll see those reds,” he noted.

The aurora display is expected to continue Wednesday night. Murphy offered advice for the best viewing experience. “You want to make sure that we are away from city lights, out away from any cities, making sure we’re not near any light pollution, and also, we need clear skies. It looks like in Western Mass., unfortunately in some spots, we’ve been dealing with a lot of cloud cover,” he said.

Murphy advised patience for breaks in cloud cover could allow for a sight of the northern lights when skies clear.

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