Northern lights encore in Chicago doesn't dazzle quite like first night, but still a sight to see
Round two of the northern lights on Wednesday might not have been as spectacular as round one on Tuesday, but it still had plenty of people out on the lakefront, trying to catch a view of the shimmering show above the Chicago area.
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Beautiful colors were in far northwest suburban Marengo, showcasing the hues of the aurora borealis.
While the display was not quite as brilliant closer to the city, some reds and greens were still spotted in the skies above Evanston as people waited hours in hopes of a show.
Molly Waxenfelter and Victoria Nowarah would do anything to see just a glimpse of the northern lights. They came prepared with snacks and essentials – including a charcuterie board and coffee – for a long night on Lighthouse Beach in Evanston.
It's the same spot dozens came to in hopes of snapping a picture like many did the night before.
"It's real subtle right now, but we're hoping for a little more," Claude Eubanks said.
Wednesday night's display in Evanston wasn't as luminous as Tuesday night, but as the evening went on, people on the beach saw a faint red glow in the sky.
"Tonight? Nothing. It's a crap shoot," said Joe Guzman, founder and CEO of Chicago Astronomer. "Tonight, we are waiting. It could happen now, it could happen in an hour, or not at all. So we just don't know. It's the mystery of the universe."
Guzman met up with people curious about the northern lights and how they work at Palmisano park in the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago. He explained the reason people could see glowing colors across Chicago this week is because the Sun burped high-energy electrons toward the Earth.
"But this time this burp of protons and electrons came toward us, aimed right at us, hitting our electromagnetic field – it's like a donut – and high above in the atmosphere, it excites the oxygen molecules," he said.
How much, where, and when it burps determines whether we see deeper reds or lower greens.
As for Waxenfelter and Nowarah back at Lighthouse Beach, they saw a bit of green in the end. It was not what they expected, but still a sight to celebrate.
Guzman said these solar storms behind the northern lights also have the power to damage communication lines like power and railroads. It did that in the 1800's, but it was not that strong this time around.