Northern lights visible in Massachusetts, forecast map shows potential for major aurora display

BOSTON – The northern lights once again put on a show in Massachusetts Thursday night. There is another chance to see the aurora Friday night, according to the latest forecast. You could say New England is becoming the “new Iceland.”

Over the last several months the sun has been incredibly active, unleashing a series of coronal mass ejections from its surface.

The last week or so has been one of the most active periods we have seen in years. For the last several nights, folks have been spotting the northern lights all over New England. The geomagnetic storm responsible for those amazing views is now subsiding.  

But it’s not over yet. Another massive CME occurred Tuesday. This emanated from a giant sunspot (AR3848) that was facing directly at Earth.

Severe geomagnetic storm watch

Space weather forecasters have issued a “Severe G4 Geomagnetic Storm Watch” for Thursday and Friday.

This has the potential to be another major northern lights event, perhaps even approaching the stunning event back on May 10.

Space weather models are in agreement that this fast moving, coronal mass ejection will strike Earth’s atmosphere tonight and last as long as 12 hours.

While auroras are never guaranteed, our odds tonight are about as high as they get as far as aurora predictions go.

What causes the northern lights and aurora borealis?

Meteorologist Jacob Wycoff explained what causes the northern lights earlier this year, when the aurora borealis put on a stunning display in May over the region after a sunspot sent electrons toward Earth.

“What happened is, those electrons, they interacted with our atmosphere,” he explained. “And depending on the element and the altitude at which they were interacting with the atmosphere, that’s where we got the colors from.”

The level of storm activity is measured using something called a “K index.” Typically, in order for us in New England to have a shot at seeing auroras we need a K index of 7 or higher.

Northern lights forecast

The current forecast for tonight is as high as 8-9, near the top of the chart.

If the geomagnetic storm arrives as advertised, auroras may be seen as far south as Texas. Certainly, anyone living in the northern tier of the United States would have a decent shot tonight.

The weather forecast couldn’t be better. Any clouds that form today are forecast to melt away after sunset and we expect mainly clear skies all night long across all of New England.

A reminder: If possible, find a location with as little artificial light as possible and with an unobstructed view of the night sky.  

And, as always, if you snap any pics we would love to see and share them. Send them to weather@wbztv.com

Sun blast may have ripped comet’s tail

Finally, check out this amazing image from a SOHO spacecraft currently orbiting around the sun.

Remarkably, it caught the massive CME AND Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS!

Scientists think it is possible that the massive blast from the sun might have ripped off part of the tail of the comet. Time will tell as the comet comes back into view this weekend in the western horizon.