Pics or it didn’t happen.

Marylanders pointed their cameras and phones toward the sky Thursday evening, capturing rare and captivating photos of the northern lights.

Pale hues of magenta, teal and orange danced across the sky thanks to a severe geomagnetic storm that brought the atmospheric phenomenon to parts of the region.

Aimee Hickman on Thursday evening pulled up to the parking lot at Soldiers Delight near Owings Mills and found it full of stargazers wrapped in blankets. During the day, the natural area is a popular hiking spot known as the largest remaining serpentine ecosystem in the eastern U.S.

“Standing on the edge of a serpentine grassland on the bones of the oldest mountain chain in the world while watching the sky shift in waves of pinks and greens was something my teenage kids and I will never forget,” Hickman said in an email Friday morning.

For Dawn Yost, seeing the aurora borealis was a bucket list item that she assumed would require travel. Despite her proximity to a brightly lit high school on Thursday night, she said she was pleasantly surprised to see how well the colors showed up.

“It was such a treat to have them come and visit me at home,” Yost said. “Early on in the evening, I could see the pink glow with the naked eye, but once I used the camera, all the colors came to life in full splendor.”

The teacher and other educators at her school notified students of the northern lights Thursday night in hopes they would be able to see it for themselves.

“I am looking forward this morning to hearing their stories as well,” Yost said in an email Friday.

Those who missed the northern lights Thursday could get a second chance Friday night to spot the stunning aurora.

In the meantime, here are some more stunning images captured in Maryland.

Baltimore Banner reporter Clara Longo de Freitas contributed to this story.