PELLSTON, Mich. —  The northern lights lit up the night sky at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Thursday, Oct. 10.

The celestial show captivated scientists and staff stationed at the research and teaching campus nestled along Douglas Lake.

They stood in the sand on the shores of South Fishtail Bay and watched the glow of the colorful aurora dance.

Streaks of pink, purple and green arose from a geomagnetic storm reaching Earth, the result of a “fast coronal mass ejection” of plasma from the sun earlier in the week, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

Scroll below to view a photo gallery.

Founded in 1909, the U-M Biological Station is one of the nation’s largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.

Laboratories, classrooms and cabins are tucked into more than 11,000 acres along Douglas Lake to support long-term science knowledge and education.

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Ella Segal, a graduate student researcher from the University of Tennessee, took this photo of the northern lights along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Ella Segal, a graduate student researcher from the University of Tennessee, took this photo of the northern lights along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Ella Segal, a graduate student researcher from the University of Tennessee, took this photo of the northern lights along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Ella Segal, a graduate student researcher from the University of Tennessee, took this photo of the northern lights along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.