We got a surprise when we walked from downtown Victoria in the night sky. It was a visual display of our Earth's magnetic field protecting us from our sun's solar storms: the auraora borealis.
Here is a handy infographic, from CPLabSafety, on the science behind the phenomenon. A more detailed infographic is here.
I had last seen a full aurora borealis in 1989 in New Brunswick. I had gotten up in the middle of the night and its rich scintillating curtain of colour was awesome to behold. These reminded me of that experience.
I hope that those who could observe this, did.