The aurora borealis could grace Northern New York’s skies on Thanksgiving and Black Friday as a solar storm intensifies and the weather cooperates.
Several northern U.S. states may see faint auroras briefly Thursday evening and early Friday, according to Mike Bettwy, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If the clouds clear and the predicted solar storm is intense enough, the window to see the Northern Lights falls between 10pm Thursday and 1am Friday.
Northern New York and possibly New York City could see the Northern Lights, although viewing is best for those in Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine. The northern parts of Idaho, Wyoming, New Hampshire and Vermont were also treated to this dazzling spectacle.
While it can be difficult to predict the exact time and likelihood of the Northern Lights, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has posted an Aurora Dashboard for sky enthusiasts to track the events, as well as a 30-minute forecast, along with maps of where the Lights would appear. can appear all over the world.
“Auroras are a spectacular sign that our planet is electrically connected to the sun,” NASA says in an introduction to the subject. “These light shows are caused by energy from the sun and fueled by electrically charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.”
NASA announced last month that the sun has reached the maximum phase of its 11-year solar cycle, a period when Earth’s star goes from calm to “an active and stormy state.” The height of the sun’s cycle allows for more frequent sunbursts and a greater opportunity to see the Northern Lights. Experts say this period could last another year.
The aurora borealis appeared spectacularly around the tri-state area in May and again in October.
With News Wire services
