This gorgeous swirl of luminescent color in the night sky looks as though it’s a digitally edited desktop background. But it was a real sight for many as a massive geomagnetic storm blazed in the sky last night.

Resulting in solar storms and a breathtaking aurora in the Northern Hemisphere, this category four storm was triggered by an enormous solar flare. Interactions between Earth’s magnetic field and charged particles from the sun caused the lights.

Here are some of the impressive views of the cosmic spectacle as seen by others.

 

Beautiful photo of the #aurora taken by @EvilAwkeye in the #BreconBeacons last night http://t.co/lSZJCLUyzC pic.twitter.com/gTUKO6hobf

— BreconBeaconsTourism (@BBNatPark) June 23, 2015

 

Northern lights over Cape Cod, Massachusetts Credit: C. Cook http://t.co/WzYC2pj9qQ #aurora #northernlights pic.twitter.com/KNXbk76zIf

— Observing Space (@ObservingSpace) June 23, 2015

 

Victoria last night @annao_x #auroraAustralis @NanoElle92 pic.twitter.com/l8oZBHRvug

— Moe Ali (@Makbulldog) June 22, 2015

 

And from space, the display was just as striking. Astronaut Scott Kelly, aboard the International Space Station, snapped a shot of his view of the otherworldly-looking aurora.

 

I've never seen this before- red #aurora. Spectacular! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/j2DVejt974

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) June 22, 2015

 

Watch this video by Jarrod Castaing that shows a timelapse of the beautiful light show as seen from Sydney’s Bilgola Beach.

 

 

[H/T: WIRED]