Did You See The Northern Lights Last Night?
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Usually. when there is a celestial event, this region is obscured by clouds. Not last night. A solar storm erupted with such force that electromagnetic waves were sent back to earth with such volume that FEMA was notified.. There was a small potential to take down a power grid.
That did not happen locally, but what did happen was Aurora Borealis which is the technical name for the Northern Lights. According to NASA, huge bursts of energy would make the sky turn into different colors. It was supposed to start about 8:00 PM. It did not. By 7:30 PM a huge burst of energy hit the earth, causing the sky to become red .
It was visible where light pollution is minimal. The aural burst was seen by many as far south as Philadelphia even into Delaware, depending on the location of the person looking to the sky.. The geomagnetic storm from the sun is measured by what is called the K Index. The higher the number, the more pronounced the Northern Lights will be. The highest number is K-9 which happened on May 10, 2024. Of course, this region was in cloud cover at that time..
The geomagnetic storm peaked at five volts per kilometer, according to NASA,. The electric current did not overload any systems. In 1989 The Quebec power grid was taken out by a storm. That storm was more powerful that what happened last night.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com A faint tint of green can be seen in the sky over Yardley .
The Northern Lights are very pronounced the farther up- the Arctic Circle you are. It was best to see the lights about 10 to 20 degrees above the horizon, which means no trees or buildings in the way. Due to the frequency of the light, it may be difficult to see with a naked eye. A senor in a cell phone camera will pick it up better. The first burst of 7:30 PM was seen without aid. Later bursts which resulted in a greenish tint in the sky could only be seen in this area after pointing a camera in that direction. The farther north you are, the easier it is to see.