The spectacular images of the northern lights left by the greatest solar activity in 11 years

This is how the phenomenon was seen in the sky over Brandenburg, Germany (Photo: AP)

A huge solar storm approaching Earth generated this Friday Northern lights in places where they are not normally visible.

This storm, which is expected to last all weekend, occurs at a time when The Sun is approaching the peak of an 11-year cycle of intensified activity.

The largest solar storm on record is the “Carrington event” of 1859: it destroyed the telegraph network in the United States, delivered electrical discharges and the northern lights were visible in unprecedented latitudes, as far as Central America.

In the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, the sky was also dyed red as a result of the auroras (X: @SatelitesArg)

The town of Brocken, near Schierke, in northern Germany, saw a mix of greenish and violet colors (Photo: AP)

The northern lights stood out in the night sky over Brandenburg, Germany (Photo: AP)

This is how the auroras appeared in the Dreisamtal valley, in the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany (Photo: AP)

An aurora borealis is seen above Lausanne and the Jura from the Tour de Gourze in Riex, Switzerland, this May 11, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS)

In this long exposure photo, a car drives on a road as the northern lights illuminate the night sky in Daillens, Switzerland, on May 11, 2024. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

The skies over the city of Tara, in southwestern Siberia, Omsk region, Russia (REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko)

The city of Tara, in southwestern Siberia, Omsk region, Russia (REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko)

The Roaches near Leek, Staffordshire, Great Britain (REUTERS/Carl Recine)

The phenomenon illuminates the monument to World War II in the city of Tara, southwestern Siberia (REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko)

The northern lights, caused by a coronal mass ejection on the Sun, illuminate the skies over the city of Tara, in southwestern Siberia (REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko)