Okanagan woman captures a rare, mysterious, glowing purple arc in the night sky

Photo: Cecelia Louis-Ralston

Click here to view gallery

Photo: Cecelia Louis-Ralston Photo: Cecelia Louis-Ralston Photo: Cecelia Louis-Ralston

An Okanagan woman captured a rare and mysterious celestial phenomenon, known as a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement or STEVE, for short.

STEVE presents as a glowing purple arc that typically runs east to west and occurs closer to the equator. The phenomenon is similar to its more well-known cousins aurora borealis and australis.

Cecelia Louis-Ralston tells Castanet she got an alert on an app telling her there was a good chance of spotting the aurora borealis Friday night, so she went out near her home in Keremeos.

"I'm like, oh, it's happening out there. I picked a spot that had the least amount of light pollution and no obscured views," says Louis-Ralston.

She managed to take a few photos with her iPhone that showed off STEVE as an aurora-like phenomenon that appeared as a ribbon of light.

STEVE is thought to be caused by a ribbon of hot plasma, heated by the same solar emissions that create auroras. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the primary sources of space weather are solar flares and associated solar coronal mass ejections. These events on the sun release photons and energetic particles that collide with Earth and its protective magnetic field.

"I didn't realize how amazing it was until I looked on social media the next day, people as far south as Utah and Arizona saw this," says Louis-Ralston.

STEVE can last for 20 minutes to an hour.

Louis-Ralston says she spotted the light show just after 10:20 p.m. Friday, the show lasted about 20 minutes.

This isn't the first time she has seen the celestial phenomenon. Louis-Ralston now knows she spotted STEVE back in 2003 in the Rocky Mountains.