Where New Yorkers can see the Northern Lights
NEW YORK (PIX11) --- New Yorkers hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights this week are better off in rural parts of the state, experts said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center said people wanting to see the Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, should get away from city lights and find a dark viewing spot. Look to the sky, north on the horizon.
New Yorkers living north of the Catskills may have the best shot at catching the display, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. The lights may also be visible south of the New York-Canadian border.
The best viewing times are between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday, depending on the forecast.
Northern Lights are most often seen in Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in 2024 is making the lights visible in places farther to the south.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity on Thursday in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland.
Northern Lights occur when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth’s magnetic field and causes atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow. The lights appear suddenly and the intensity varies.
A geomagnetic index known as Kp ranks auroral activity on a scale from zero to nine, with zero being not very active and nine being bright and active. The Geophysical Institute has forecast Kp 6 for Thursday’s storm.
--Associated Press material was used in this report.