The northern lights put on a show over Philly Thursday night. Here’s what people saw.

It took a “severe” level geomagnetic storm from the hyperactive sun to turn on the lights, but at long last the aurora borealis put on a spectacular rose and purple-ish show over the Philadelphia region Thursday evening for the first time in perhaps 20 years.

The sky show was apparent in the early evening at least as far south as Washington, D.C., in areas where the sky was reasonably dark — the result of a solar storm whose effects were expected to continue into Friday.

The light show was set off by a powerful geomagnetic storm, which arrived at 11:15 a.m. EST and quickly intensified. Its effects were forecast to linger into Friday, and it could affect power grids, officials said.

Its immediate impact over Philly was a period of absolute awe, as the undulating curtains of light took over the night sky.

Here are some images from our readers and social media posts.