Week of October 20, 2024 – October 26, 2024
by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator
Did you see the northern lights last week? Until this year, I always thought I’d have to go to Alaska to see them. We’ve had several solar storms over the past few months that were strong enough to produce auroras at our latitude and even well to our south. The pesky clouds keep preventing a lot of Central New Yorkers from experiencing this magical phenomenon; however, more opportunities to see the northern lights seem very likely over the next year or so here.
The aurora borealis (aurora australis in the southern hemisphere) is a beautiful display of colorful light seen at night, usually near the earth’s poles. It is caused by the sun, which is really a giant ball of hot gas with a huge amount of energy. Sometimes, the sun releases a large amount of charged particles and energy through an explosion called a coronal mass ejection (CME). If a CME heads towards Earth, some of the charged particles can make it into the earth’s upper atmosphere, reacting with oxygen and nitrogen to produce green, red, and even blue and purple light.
The aurora is usually seen close to the arctic circle (over 1,500 miles north of here), but it is possible to see it at our latitude with particularly strong CMEs. Earlier this week, NASA announced that the sun has reached the maximum period of its 11-year magnetic activity cycle. When the sun is in its “solar maximum” phase, it releases the most solar flares and CMEs, giving us more chances to see the aurora.
If seeing the northern lights is on your bucket list, this is the year to keep watch on the “space weather” forecasts. Our local news stations will share the watches and warnings from the Space Weather Prediction Center when the conditions are right for auroras. If chances are good, find a spot with an open north view, away from as much light as possible. Let your eyes adjust to the dark. The aurora will look like thin, slightly colorful clouds. Cameras pick up more light than our eyes, so you can try taking a photo of the sky with a smartphone if you’re unsure of what you see. The aurora is unpredictable and dynamic; the sky can go from pitch black to an explosion of lights overhead in a matter of minutes. So if you don’t see anything, don’t give up too soon!
With fingers crossed for a clear night, I hope you get to catch the spectacular northern lights! For more information about space weather, visit the Space Weather Prediction Center at: