NIU Student Captures Photos of Northern Lights in Illinois

If you missed seeing the Northern Lights on display in Illinois Sunday night, these pictures captured by an 18-year-old NIU student might be the next best thing.

Have You Ever Seen the Northern Lights?

As far as I can remember, I have never seen the Northern Lights, so I'm currently kicking myself for missing the prime viewing opportunity we've had in Illinois recently.

The prime viewing time for Northern Lights in Illinois has been between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., and I just can't stay up that late, so now I have to live vicariously through the photos that other Illinois residents captured and shared online.

NIU Meteorology Student Captures Amazing Photos of Northern Lights

According to WGN, Landon Moeller is an 18-year-old student from Schaumburg who is currently studying Meteorology at Northern Illinois University. Landon is also an avid storm chaser, so when he learned that "a coronal mass ejection and a minor solar flare" happened on Friday night that would make the Northern Lights visible in Illinois on Sunday, he hopped in his car for a quick road trip.

Landon told WGN that he drove about an hour and 45 minutes to just outside Apple River, Illinois because he was "trying to avoid extensive cloud cover and light pollution to the east towards Chicago". About 30 minutes after Landon arrived, manned with a fancy Nikon camera, he was able to capture some AMAZING shots...

Are There More Chances to See the Northern Lights in Illinois This Week?

Unfortunately, peak Northern Lights viewing time in Illinois likely has already passed, BUT if skies clear up later tonight we could get the chance to view them again. Get your camera ready...just in case!