Watch the Northern Lights dance above Michigan's Mackinac Bridge

Northern Lights over Mackinac Bridge on May 6, 2018. (Dustin Dilworth/D3 Imagery)

The Northern Lights paid a visit to Northern Michigan this weekend and they didn't disappoint.

Photographers around the state flocked to Northern Michigan this weekend and captured some amazing stuff.

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Dustin Dilworth of D3 Imagery captured a time-lapse video of the lights dancing around Michigan's Mackinac Bridge. See it below:

Northern Lights over Mackinac last night 💚 To use this video in a commercial player or in broadcasts, please email licensing@storyful.com

Posted by Legacy Imagery on Monday, May 7, 2018

About Auroras (From NASA)

The dancing lights of the auroras provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun. Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs. After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light. The result: the Northern and Southern lights.

NASA's suite of heliophysics spacecraft track how events on the sun affect near-Earth space, including several missions dedicated to aurora studies. Auroras are but one symptom of a larger space weather system in which solar material and radiation can affect Earth's own magnetic environment and block radio communications, disturb onboard satellite computers, or -- at their worst -- cause electrical surges in power grids.


About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.