WASHINGTON STATE — Solar storms brought visible auroras to Western Washington, beginning late Thursday and lasting into the early hours of Friday morning.

Viewers sent photos to KOMO News showing the colorful lights beaming from the sky.

According to the National Weather Service, Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, are caused by interactions between the sun and Earth’s outer atmosphere.

“All the stars have to align” for this to happen, said Erica Grow Cei, spokeswoman for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The best time to see the Northern Lights is at night, when it is dark and you cannot see city lights. A photo taken with a smartphone camera can also reveal signs of the Northern Lights that are not visible to the naked eye.

The sun’s magnetic field is at the peak of its 11-year cycle, making storms and auroras more frequent. Unusually strong solar storms in May produced brilliant auroras across the Northern Hemisphere.

When the sun emits electrically charged particles and they interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, this causes ions to glow, according to the NWS.

Some auroras can cause power outages in satellite communications and problems with radio and television transmissions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.