iN PHOTOS: Shimmering northern lights caught on camera in Kamloops, Okanagan

Photographers in Kamloops and the Okanagan hoping to snap a shot of the northern lights last night weren't disappointed. 

Kamloops resident Cathy Sutthill drove to a high outlook in the Juniper community at midnight last night, Feb. 14, to see pink, purple and green aurora borealis shimmering across the sky before disappearing about an hour later.

“I was so excited because I’ve been trying to catch the lights every year,” she said. “It was really active, vibrating in the sky. It was incredible. I’ve never seen pinks and purples before and there was a bit of red too.”

Sutthill is a hobby photographer who does landscape and sports photography. She loves getting outdoors at night and is currently hoping to capture photos of the milky way.

READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Kamloops wildlife photographer captures amazing bighorn sheep images

The sun is constantly sending out energy and small particles but most don’t pass through Earth’s magnetic field, according to Nasa Science.

Sometimes a solar storm called a coronal mass ejection makes the sun release electrified gas that can quickly travel through space. When a solar storm comes close to Earth some of that energy and small particles travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into the atmosphere. 

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, happen when the particles interact with gases. Oxygen gives off green and red light while nitrogen gives off blue and purple light. 

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