Northern Lights Could Shine Over Pennsylvania This Week

The northern lights may shine over Pennsylvania this week, according to lehighvalleylive.com.

A series of coronal mass ejections, which are plasma bursts from the sun, are expected to cause the aurora borealis to be visible farther south than usual on August 17 and 18. If the events are strong enough, they could be seen as far south as the Lehigh Valley.

“I certainly wouldn’t rule it out,” Bill Murtagh, a program coordinator with the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, told lehighvalleylive.com. 

The best opportunity to see the northern lights will most likely be early Thursday morning and then again on Thursday night. Those who are interested in seeing the aurora should go somewhere with a good view to the north and dark skies, away from any pesky light pollution.

However, Murtagh warns Pennsylvania residents to not expect the dancing northern lights that are typically seen in photographs taken in the far-north. According to him, the aurora will likely appear as a faint green light in the northern sky. In addition, the bright light of the waning moon could overpower any weak aurora seen from the area. The good news is that the weather appears to be cooperative, for the time being.