Anyone who happened to be outside early Saturday morning might have caught a glimpse of green, blue and red flashing lights in the sky.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, was visible roughly between 1:00 a.m. and 1:50 a.m. This is a rare occurrence in central Pennsylvania, because the area is usually too far south for such sightings.

Nick Santilli (sophomore-astrophysics) happened to step outside when the sky began to light up.

"I looked outside and I thought I saw a rainbow in the sky," he said.

Auroras become visible after a series of particles are ejected from the sun by solar storms. Some of the particles interact with the Earth's magnetic field and become trapped there, causing the light display.

They are most commonly sighted in the northern and southern poles, where there is an abundance of magnetic fields.

"You usually only see it in Alaska and northern Canada," Santilli said.

According to www.spaceweather.com, aurora borealis sightings were expected to occur as far south as Southern California and Mexico after a severe geomagnetic storm Friday night that was sparked by an enormous sunspot, the largest recorded in 10 years, on the Sun's surface.

"When the activity on the sun is strong, the aurora tend to be stronger," said Leisa Townsley, senior resident associate of astrology and astrophysics.

Santilli said he had a difficult time seeing it from his well-lit front porch, but got a better view when he walked to a dark cul-de-sac off North Atherton Street.

"If you were in an absolute dark area, you would see it really well," he said. "The further you are from any light pollution, the better off you are."

The blanket of colorful light looked like it was emanating from one bright star, Arcturus, or "the keeper of heaven." It was just an illusion, though, as the star was not related to the aurora borealis.

Carole Herwig, a student at Montgomery County Community College who was visiting State College, tried to get photographs of the northern lights, which can only be captured using a tripod and a slow exposure.

"I'm really hoping the pictures I took turn out," she said.

Nick Haneiko (junior-psychology) said he was glad he got the chance to see the northern lights.

"It was amazing — I just looked up and stared into the sky, mesmerized," he said.