
The Northern Lights Will Be Visible All Month In New York State
The Northern Lights have been sparkling throughout North America for the last few weeks. The phenomenon has been keeping skygazers and scientists mesmerized just about every night this year. This has been the perfect last few weeks weather-wise to see them all over the Empire State. From Buffalo to Brooklyn and Newburgh to Niagara Falls, the sky has been lit up quite often this fall.
According to NASA, this trend will continue for a while, but do you know what Aurora Borealis is? How about why we've seen it so often this year, and maybe even more importantly, how much longer will it be viewable from the Empire State?
What Are The Northern Lights?
NOAA says that the Northern Lights and their southern cousins, the Southern Lights, officially known as Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, are caused by electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere.
Electrons are energized through acceleration processes in the downwind tail (night side) of the magnetosphere and at lower altitudes along auroral field lines. The accelerated electrons follow the magnetic field of Earth down to the Polar Regions where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. In these collisions, the electrons transfer their energy to the atmosphere thus exciting the atoms and molecules to higher energy states. When they relax back down to lower energy states, they release their energy in the form of light.
-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This solar-near-earth phenomenon has occurred quite a bit this year as the sun has been approaching its maximum period, which, according to NASA scientists, happens every 11 years.
When the sun reaches its maximum, its magnetic field flips, causing much more solar activity than we typically see. This leads to more sunspots, solar eruptions, and other phenomena like the Aurora Borealis and Australis.
Because of this, we can expect to see the Northern Lights a lot more this year. In fact, Astronomy Magazine thinks we'll be able to see the Aurora for the next year.
READ MORE: See the BEST Northern Lights Photos From New York State
If you want to glimpse the Northern Lights, NOAA has a dashboard that predicts the Aurora's future activity and provides several good tips for watching it outside.
Northern Lights Dazzle Over New York State
Gallery Credit: Clay Moden
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