After solar storms lit up Sask. skies with northern lights Friday, they could dazzle again Saturday

The land of the living skies lived up to its reputation on Friday night.

A series of powerful solar storms made the northern lights visible across Saskatchewan, and they could shine in the province again on Saturday night.

The colourful auroras weren't just lighting up the sky in northern parts of the province on Friday — many northern lights hunters in southern Saskatchewan got to experience the magic near their homes.

Photographer Emily Tarnes spent hours outside near Estevan watching the night sky change colours.

Seeing the northern lights near her home in southern Saskatchewan is more common than people think, but Friday's display was special, she said.

"Last night was really crazy. Usually you don't see them in the whole sky, like in every direction. Usually it's just north, but last night they were everywhere," Tarnes, who has been chasing auroras for around two years, said Saturday.

Tarnes doesn't chase the northern lights on her own. She usually goes with her grandparents to witness the colourful auroras.

"It was really nice. Every time I go out to see them, it's with my grandma and my grandpa. It's always cool because they're so excited, like I am," Tarnes said.

Tarnes said the northern lights were visible in all directions, not just north, on Friday night. (Submitted by Emily Tarnes)

She plans to spend Saturday night outside again to photograph the northern lights. She recommends staying out longer than just the first display of colourful auroras, because they can come back even stronger.

"If they're in the sky really bright and then they go away, if you just wait, usually they'll end up coming back, like they did last night," Tarnes said. "We almost went in and then they came back brighter" around 1 a.m., she said.

Dustin Wilson has been chasing northern lights in Saskatchewan for around a decade. He said the colours on display Friday near his home in Kamsack, in eastern Saskatchewan, were uncommon.

"The intensity was so bright last night that the reds were everywhere, the pinks were everywhere," Wilson said.

"Normally when you take your shots on an average night out here, you might get a little bit of pink, a little bit of yellow and a lot of green. But last night it was like the total opposite — it was a great night for photos."

Wilson is part of a Facebook group called the Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters. It has more than 80,000 members, and on Saturday morning it was filled with northern lights photos from places across the province, including Regina and Saskatoon.

"It was really nice for the whole province to be able to pull it off," Wilson said.

The northern lights weren't just seen in Saskatchewan. The geomagnetic storm meant colourful auroras were seen around the world, including the United States, Europe, Australia and other Canadian provinces.

Wilson recommends going out to a place with little light pollution to see the best displays in the sky. He will be going back out on Saturday and Sunday night to try to take more photos of the northern lights.

Both Wilson and Tarnes said if you are driving out to a location to see the northern lights, it's important to make sure you don't park with your car lights completely off, which means other drivers can't see you and chasing the auroras could become dangerous.

Riley Urschel is newer to taking photos of the northern lights. He spent Friday night in Grenfell taking in the beauty of the night sky turning red and pink.

"I've been doing this for a few months now and this is definitely the most intense I've ever seen," Urschel said. "I'll never forget it, that's for sure."

Riley Urschel said Friday's display of northern lights in Grenfell was the most intense he's ever seen. (Submitted by Riley Urschel)