Northern Lights dazzle in over half-dozen states: New York, Minnesota, Arkansas

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Northern lights at night in North Dakota: See this beautiful video

The northern lights were seen in a colorful display of green, purple and pink in Mekinock, North Dakota. Video recorder Elan Azriel captured it on camera, and said it was special because of prior weeks of "clouds and bad weather."

People living in at least a half-dozen states could see the shimmering and surprising display of the Northern Lights between Thursday and Friday.

Individuals in Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota and New York took to social media to show the beautiful multicolor glow of the aurora borealis.

The National Weather Service confirmed that over a half-dozen states along the northern tier of the U.S. could see the stunning display of the lights, visible to the naked eye.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center's aurora forecast cited "stronger than anticipated" influences and issued a geomagnetic storm watch until Saturday.

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The watch is in effect through Saturday but is expected to peak on Friday, March 24. At its peak, residents as far north as Maine may be able to catch a glimpse of the spectacular lights.

"The Northern Lights are dancing in Upper Michigan tonight!" the National Weather Service office in Marquette, Michigan said in a Twitter post.

An image of the Northern Lights in Cheyenne, Wyoming from Thursday, March 23. (Mike Morris via Twitter)

The pink and red lights shimmered over Cheyenne, WY on Thursday, March 23. (Mike Morris via Twitter)

Dakota Snider told Fox News Digital that he was on an American Airlines flights from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona when he saw the "faint glow" of the lights.

"I took an iPhone photo to see if it was, and it showed up on the iPhone—so I busted out my real camera." Snider told Fox News Digital. "Everyone was asleep on the plane except the flight attendants who were beyond stoked to see such a rare event this far south!"

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Snider shared the stunning images of the Northern Lights while he was flying to Phoenix, Arizona. He used his Cannon Eos 5d Mark iii to shoot the below neon pink lights.

Dakota Snider was thrilled to see the Northern Lights when he was on a flight from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona. (Dakota Snider via Twitter)

Dakota Snider's ingenious set-up to capture the Northern Lights on his American Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona. (Dakota Snider via Twitter)

Annie Scott Riley was on a late flight home from New York to Minnepolis, Minnesota when she captured the Northern Lights from 30,000 feet.

Riley shared on Twitter that she captured the image when she was approximately an hour from landing in Minnesota.

Annie Scott Riley shared a stunning image of the Northern Lights on her flight from JFK airport to MPS airport. (Annie Scott Riley via Twitter)

The waves of light are caused by the sun. While the sun sends energy and small particles, the Earth is protected by its magnetic field. Some outputs are stronger than others, including solar storms. 

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When the solar storm heads toward Earth, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth's atmosphere. There, the particles interact with gases in the atmosphere, creating the light displays.

Oxygen gives off green and red light, and NASA says nitrogen glows blue and purple. 

The aurora is named for the Roman goddess of dawn. While the aurora borealis occurs in the north, the southern pole sees the aurora australis, or southern lights. 

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Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.