Northern Lights to be greatly visible from NJ tonight (radio, best)

[GiantRutgersfan]

Don't be alarmed if a bright swath of neon colors lights up the sky over New Jersey tonight.
It's not an extraterrestrial invasion or new-age fireworks. Rather, it's the phenomenon known as northern lights which is the result of a collision of charged particles and atoms in the atmosphere.

The light show could be gorgeous.

AccuWeather reports a solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday will create the display. Clear skies over New Jersey should create ideal viewing conditions for the aurora borealis (or northern lights).


"Viewing conditions will be best in the mid-Atlantic region (including New Jersey) ... Most of the country will have poor to fair views as a result of cloud cover, with areas further south not experiencing the aurora at all," Accuweather reports on its website.

The radiation from the flare may also cause radio wave disturbances to electronics such as cell phones, GPS and radios, causing service to occasionally cut in and out. So put down your phone and look up.

The natural light show is expected to start around 8:00 p.m. and last for several hours.

Should be pretty cool. And you dont have to stay up late to see it.

[ocnjgirl]

Wow, I'm excited. thanks!

[lkb0714]

http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/USA.html

Updates every 5 minutes with current visibility line.

[EBWick]

The visibility line's up in Canada & I haven't been able to see anything. Will it change?

[lkb0714]

It might but my guess based on the radiation readings at noaa is if it does change it won't be for a few hours yet. And in the defense of my fellow scientists, THEY did say we "might be able to see the aurora" tonight. It must have been a slow news cycle because the media blew this up much bigger than noaa did.