Question

Solar storm brings spectacular northern lights to sky-watchers as far south as Texas

Answer 1

The claim that a solar storm brought northern lights to sky-watchers as south as Texas is true. The article that you linked from AllSides is an excerpt from a NBC article (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aurora-borealis-photos-solar-storm-northern-lights-texas-rcna174992), which is typically a reliable news source. The article says that the storm was ranked a 4/5 in severity, linking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a source (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g4-severe-geomagnetic-storm-levels-continue-be-observed). The NOAA is a very reliable government organization, and a look at this page shows that there was indeed a solar storm that reached 4 out of 5 intensity. The NBC article also provided many pictures of the northern lights from all across the globe, including some pictures from as south as Texas. Also, many other news sources have reported the same incident, including Click2Houston, a Houston news source (Here's why the Northern Lights made it to Texas - Click2HoustonClick2Houstonhttps://www.click2houston.com › news › 2024/10/11). Overall, the claim that a solar storm brought northern lights to sky-watchers as south as Texas is true because it is backed up by credible research and is reported by other reliable news sources.

Comments

I appreciate that you used national and local news outlets to confirm this claim. Knowing that a local news channel reporting of such a solar storm occurring, makes me feel more confident in it being certain. Also, using a government organization - NOAA - is also an excellent source since they are to not spread false information to the public. Overall, all the sources you used are quite credible and your facet-checking assured any of my suspicions.

Answer 2

While More prominent with the naked eye in northern Texas, people with good low-light cameras will be able to see the northern lights in more southern Texas cities. I chose to find news sources in Texas because that would be the most credible information to whether or not there was actual sightings and there was plenty of picture evidence.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/northern-lights-visible-in-texas-what-to-know/3667688/

https://today.tamu.edu/2024/09/03/aurora-borealis-can-light-up-the-sky-and-shut-down-the-grid/

https://www.click2houston.com/news/2024/10/11/heres-why-the-northern-lights-made-it-to-texas/

Answer 3

The claim, "solar storm brings spectacular northern lights to sky-watchers as far south as Texas" is true. 

I found several other articles about this event and confirmed that the northern lights were visible as south as Texas. One being, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aurora-borealis-photos-solar-storm-northern-lights-texas-rcna174992 . 

In the article provided, and as mentioned in the headline, it also claims that the reason for this event is because of a severe geomagnetic storm. I also checked this and found that it was true. The article that I read was https://www.adastraspace.com/p/northern-lights-solar-cycle-solar-maximum and it stated "The northern lights were visible in the tropics thanks to the ensuing geomagnetic storm."

In one of the articles that I read from NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aurora-borealis-photos-solar-storm-northern-lights-texas-rcna174992 ) to make sure that this claim was true, a photo from Texas during this event was included. The article in said that the photo came from Lubbock, Texas from the National Weather Service who shared the image ( https://x.com/NWSLubbock/status/1844564925123002835 ). I reverse image searched the photo and confirmed that this was true, which further affirmed that the Aurora Borealis was visible in Texas. 

I would also like to add that the dates for the articles that I looked at matched up with the original one, as well as the Twitter post from the National Weather Service.