This Weekend's Aurora Displayed Some Rarities Mostly to Central Oregon Coast

Published 04/22/26 at 7:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Depoe Bay, Oregon) – This weekend's Aurora Borealis event in the northern hemisphere wound up a striking one and an all-out surprise to many just south of the Canadian border states. (Photo Kari Marloff)

Yet on the Oregon coast – at least the central coast – it wound up "da bomb." There were some “Easter eggs” hidden in this event (to use the movie term).

It wasn't captured by many – interestingly enough. That could be a matter of weather conditions. The main sightings were mostly around Depoe Bay, with some showing off in Rockaway Beach and in Florence.

Or maybe most didn't believe it was going to show and didn't bother to look. Woops.

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Colorado sent a G2 watch on April 15 that was in effect for April 17th and 18th. Not everyone paid attention or noticed – including Oregon Coast Beach Connection. G2 level conditions sometimes lead to auroral displays down here but more usually in northern Washington.

A G3 is usually when Oregon should pay attention.

Photo Kari Marloff

Shawn Dahl, SWPC Service Coordinator, told Oregon Coast Beach Connection the solar activity was heavy enough to give a 48-hour notice.

“G2 conditions primarily occurred due to coronal hole high speed stream influences (CH HSS),” Dahl said. “On April 19th, a G1 Watch was in effect, and our forecast indicated a chance for G2 conditions to be reached. That's exactly what occurred: G1 conditions were met early in the day on April 19th and an isolated period of G2 conditions was also observed.”

It turns some apps were giving a pretty strenuous heads up as well.

Then there were the unusual aspects here, like the deep red / pink and the white streaks.

Light Pillars?

Depoe Bay had the money shots, to be sure. And more than one unusual thing – it seems. This shot at top from Kari Markoff presents something rather puzzling: there's more than the “curtains” of light normally seen, there are also what appear to be light pillars. Or were they multiple occurrences of the STEVE phenomenon (short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement)?

No, to the last question, it turns out. Oregon Coast Beach Connection asked OMSI's astronomy guy Jim Todd and he said it was probably light pillars. Yet STEVE shows up shortly. Hang on.

Todd was also a tad taken back. Light pillars are a light effect you get from seriously cold air. They don't show up in Marloff's second shot – also from Boiler Bay. In fact, her second shot is all greens and it had gone from these northern lights. Green is the look more common this far south, near the 45th parallel.

Light pillars and aurora together are, well, a nearly cosmic coincidence.

“The white pillars often seen with or mistaken for auroras are light pillars, an atmospheric optical phenomenon caused by light reflecting tiny, flat ice crystals suspended in the cold air near the ground,” Todd said, citing the publication SpaceWeather.com. “These pillars are not part of the aurora itself; they are vertical, artificial light (like streetlights) or natural light (moon/sun) beams.”

Todd said light pillars are tiny ice crystals in the air – often known as “diamond dust” - and they act like tiny mirrors, reflecting light back from the ground towards the viewer. They require a lot of humidity but usually happen at night in winter.

It's also possible this is part of the curtains effect you get with aurora – but more prominent for reasons involving the physics of photography.

Now, this is where it dives into the weird for this situation: Marloff's shots are of the shoreline of the Oregon coast to the north and at least half the shot is overlooking the ocean. There are a couple or more vessels out there, one of which is creating a yellow glow rather than the whitish one given off nearby. Light pillars do regularly present the color of their light source – so it's possible this isn't a cosmic coincidence. See the Pendleton National Weather Service office's shot.

Courtesy Manuela Durson from 2024 - see Manuela Durson Fine Arts for more

You see something like this on a lot of aurora shots, like Manuela Durson's photo from Bandon a couple years ago.

Spotting STEVE?

Photo Barb Nelson

One thing that almost definitely seems to show up: STEVE. At least in Barb Nelson's shot, also from Boiler Bay. There is that big white streak poking out at a diagonal.

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), they “are a phenomenon similar to their more well-known cousins Aurora Borealis and Australis. STEVE is caused by a ribbon of hot gases rather than particles like electrons and protons like the auroras.”

It's not 100 percent certain that's what the streak is – but it seems very likely. That Which Glows Above and Below Oregon Coast – And Something New - Bioluminescence, aurora tales and some bizarre rarities captured

Rare Vibrant Reds

Also a little on the rare side: the vibrant reds. Marloff caught that in the first shot at top. Oregon Coast Explored seemed to catch it in Florence.

This is another rarity called Stable Aurora Red (SAR), which is characterized by a faint but steady reddish glow. It's won't be dramatic to the average viewer, but if you know what you're looking at it's rather special. It's a part of the aurora phenomenon that happens higher in the sky and is a testament to how intense the event is.

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