Northern Lights Were Visible Above New York

By Y.M. Lowy

If you looked up at the sky Thursday night, you might have caught the northern lights, also called auroras. These colorful lights happen when the sun sends powerful blasts of energy toward Earth, lighting up the night sky in green, pink, and purple waves.

On Tuesday, the sun released a CME along with a fast stream of solar wind from a cooler area called a coronal hole. These solar events can cause something called a geomagnetic storm, which makes the northern lights brighter and easier to see.

Experts say the strongest storm hit Thursday night, and thanks to that, parts of the northern U.S. had a chance to see the northern lights dance across the sky. The storm was strong enough to earn a G2 rating on a scale of 1 to 5, which means the auroras might have been bright enough for lucky viewers in the northern states to spot.