![]() Are there any other ways to witness the Northern Lights? Given the fact that access to an open sky is of utmost importance when trying to see the Northern Lights, leaving the city for the suburbs might be a good idea, says Faherty. Delaware, Greene and Columbia counties are good destinations to keep in mind. Would leaving Manhattan help us witness the event? One area you should definitely stay clear of is Times Square (to some, that's true at all times of the day). "Two things are very important: being able to see a large portion of the sky and the sky being very dark." "If you go to the center of the Great Lawn, with trees blocking out light from the buildings, it might be a good spot," she says. What's the best area in Manhattan to catch the spectacle?Īlthough Faherty is quick to note that we will likely not be able to see the Northern Lights from Manhattan, she does note that Central Park might be the best location to possibly catch them. Time wise, you want to look up during the darkest hour of the day, which clearly ranges based on a lot of factors. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a forecast predicting the event will happen tonight and tomorrow. Green, the most common hue, is associated with oxygen, for example. The result? A cascade of light as these charged particles disintegrate.įun fact: The colors of the aurora borealis actually indicate what sort of atoms those charged particles have bumped into. Once the particles slam at the field, they decay a bit and collide with atoms that are already in our atmosphere. It will burp out a solar flair and, when that happens on the side of the sun that is facing us, a lot of charged particles come racing towards Earth, which luckily has a protective atmospheric and magnetic field." "On occasion, the sun basically burps a lot of electromagnetic radiation and particles in a direction. "Our sun is a big ball of gas with a nuclear engine at its center that has a lot of dynamics," explains Faherty. But let's start from the beginning: What are the Northern Lights? That being said, traveling a bit outside the hustle and bustle of Manhattan might be a good idea. "Everyone's expectations should be low because this is a very hard phenomenon to see even when you're in Norway or in Sweden," the expert warns. ![]() Have a weather question you have always wondered about? Message me on social media: Facebook (Anna Meyers), Twitter (18StormAnna), and Instagram (Anna.weather), or email me at and you might be featured on the next weekly Anna Answers.Once again, the Northern Lights are (hopefully!) making an appearance across the United States this weekend.Īlthough the likelihood of catching the natural wonder in New York is low, we reached out to American Museum of Natural History astrophysicist Jackie Faherty to get some tips that might maximize city dwellers' chances of witnessing the splendor that is the aurora borealis in the upcoming few days. If you’re in an area with a break in the clouds, then we could potentially see the Northern Lights tonight. It will be visible until sunrise, but we are not going to have the best viewing conditions for it because of the cloud cover lingering. We are forecasting broken cloud cover later after the rain moves out in the next few hours, so it’s not out of the question. ![]() The best viewing time is about from now until 2 AM. We’re going to be seeing clouds for the majority of the next few hours. Question: Could we see the Northern Lights tonight?Īnswer: As of Sunday night into Monday morning there is a geomagnetic storm taking place and because of that we have a chance to see the Northern Lights.īut let’s talk about the downfall, we’re seeing some rain along with mostly cloudy conditions.
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