Will A Big Solar Storm Bring A Rare Show to NY Skies This Week?

I have always wanted to see the northern lights. Everyone who's seen them says there are few things more beautiful and captivating that you can ever see on Earth.

The problem is: I also don’t particularly want to travel somewhere far north enough that I can see them because of the cold. Norway, maybe. That Alaskan town where the sun sets for a whole month out of the year? No way, gorgeous natural phenomena or not.

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That’s why a new alert from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has me supremely excited to watch the New York night sky this week.

In non-science-speak, starting tonight an absolutely massive breakaway solar flare could hit the Earth’s atmosphere and cause the spectacular lights show we call the Aurora Borealis far outside the Arctic Circle for as long as the week. Upstate New York is well within the “mid-lattitude” area for a strong light show.

When is the best time to see the northern lights?

The most colorful time to see an aurora show is twilight, just before the sun vanishes completely, but even in darkness the trademark green and yellow hues would still shine.

On the downside, a solar storm big enough to let us see an aurora show in New York would also be devastating on electromagnetic devices and technology we all depend on. If Earth is hit by a direct strike, it could affect GPS, internet, and radio signals. It could even cause rail accidents, as signals that rely on impulses getting false positives could lead to train collisions.