by Doctor Science
The aurora borealis may be visible from New Jersey tonight! Also New York, Philadelphia, DC, and much of Ohio!
A solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday morning may create a spectacular display of northern lights Saturday evening. The midlevel flare had a long duration and was directed at Earth.
Viewing conditions in my area *may* be best around 8 pm — give or take 7 hours — so I’ve got the OVATION Aurora forecast site bookmarked up to check during dinner.
I have only seen the aurora once before, here in NJ. It was really hard at first to recognize what I was seeing, because my brain kept helpfully informing me that it was just a special effect. Once I convinced myself that no, this is real life not a green screen, my jaw just dropped open and would not close, from staggerment at the scale and beauty of what I was seeing.
I’m envious. I’d like to see that! I went to the Yukon a bunch of years ago, hoping to see the aurora, but it never got dark.
I saw the Aurora on a beach in Delaware 20 some years ago. It was faint and pale. I only saw it because my girlfriend and I decided to walk away from town where it was dark.
I’m in swdeden now so I will take a good look tonight. Maybe I’ll luck out if the sky stays clear.
A couple weeks ago the news showed an amazing shot of the aurora over stockholm. It showed a georgeous purple blaze across the sky.
Despite many holidays in Norway, I have only once (in the far North) seen a tiny bit of aurora, and that looked more like a few clouds that for some unknown reason had turned green.
Clouds last night, dammit.
I recall years ago, (Fall of 2001, I think.) back in Michigan, one night I went out for some reason, looked up, and there was a wave of color crashing across the sky. I briefly shot in to email a friend, and then spent the next hour getting a crick in my neck as the entire sky lit up all the way to the southern horizon. And this was southern Michigan. I’d never seen anything so spectacular before.